South African nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, which

came into force In law, coming into force or entry into force (also called commencement) is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this t ...

on 6 October 1995. Any person born to at least one South African parent receives citizenship at birth. Children born to a legal resident of the country are entitled to South African citizenship only when they reach the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

. Foreign nationals may be granted citizenship after meeting a residence requirement (usually five years). South Africa is composed of several former British colonies conquered and settled during the 19th century whose residents were

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

s. After these colonies were merged into the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

and elevated as a

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

within the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in 1910, South Africa was granted more autonomy over time and gradually became independent from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. While South African citizens are no longer British, they continue to hold favoured status when residing in the UK; as

Commonwealth citizen A Commonwealth citizen is a citizen or qualified national of a Commonwealth of Nations member state. Most member countries do not treat citizens of other Commonwealth states any differently from foreign nationals, but some grant limited citizen ...

s, South Africans are eligible to vote in UK elections and serve in public office there.

Commonwealth citizenship

South African citizens have been

s by default since 1 June 1994.

Terminology

The distinction between the meaning of the terms

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

and

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers a person's legal belonging to a

nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of a state; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation. Historically, South African citizenship existed as a subcategory within a wider British nationality (

status) applicable to all citizens of the British Empire and

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. The post-apartheid

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...

avoids usage of the term "nationality" to sidestep possibilities of evoking ethnic connotations, but there is now little distinction between the two terms and they are used interchangeably in the modern context.

Acquiring South African nationality

Nationality can be obtained in South Africa at birth or later in life through naturalisation.

By birth

Typically, in South Africa, a combination of jus sanguinis and

jus soli ''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contras ...

are used to determine nationality at birth. Those who are eligible include: * Children born anywhere who have at least one parent who is South African and the other parent is South African or a legal resident; or * Persons born in the country who would otherwise be stateless, as long as their birth was registered with the authorities.

By naturalisation

Naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

can be granted to persons of

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Loss of nationality

South Africans are allowed to

renounce {{Short pages monitor