ConCourt to hear arguments on citizenship of South Africans living abroad

JOHANNESBURG - The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) will on Tuesday morning hear arguments on a section of the law that enables the automatic loss of citizenship of some South Africans living abroad.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is challenging the law linked to South Africans who left the country and acquired citizenship in another.

The party wants the court to declare a section of the law unconstitutional and invalid.

Section 6(1) (a) of the Constitution stipulates that South African citizens may lose their citizenship if they voluntarily and formally acquire the citizenship of another country unless they obtain prior permission from the Minister of Home Affairs.

The DA took its bid to challenge this provision to the high court in 2018 which dismissed the application, reasoning that the section served a legitimate government purpose in allowing the state to regulate and manage citizenship.

When it escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, however, the appeals court ruled in favour of the party that the statute unjustifiably infringed upon citizens’ political rights, the right to enter and remain in South Africa and the right to freedom of trade, occupation and profession.

The DA has now taken its bid to the apex court for a final stamp of approval where it will make its argument on Tuesday morning.

The application is unopposed by the Minister and Department of Home Affairs which said it would abide by the court’s decision.