The short answer

Children born after October 2014 will need a visa from Home Affairs.

The whole question

I am a foreign national and I’ve had permanent residency since 2011. I’ve been married for ten years and three of my children were born in South Africa, making them South African citizens. However, my last born was denied citizenship by Home Affairs. They stated that he should apply for a visa instead.  Shouldn’t he be a citizen like his siblings?

The long answer

The South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 2010 (Act No. 17 of 2010) came into operation on 1 January 2013 and unfortunately it means that children of permanent residents born after October 2014 no longer qualify for automatic citizenship or permanent residency. It means that children born after October 2014 will need a visa from Home Affairs.

The visa your youngest son must apply for is temporary residency, for example under the relatives category, and he will also need to apply for permanent residency.

The law now says:

“Any person born in the Republic of parents who have been admitted into the Republic for permanent residence and who is not a South African citizen, qualifies to be a South African citizen by birth, if:

(a) he or she has lived in the Republic from the date of his or her birth to the date of becoming a major; and
(b) his or her birth is registered in the Republic in accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992).

So I’m afraid your son can only become a South African citizen after he is 18 years old, provided that his birth is registered.

 

The terminated multimillion-rand contract was for biometric and e-gate systems to control passenger movement at airports.
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has terminated the contract for an
automated
border control project issued to IDEMIA, a French technology company.
ACSA announced the decision this morning, stating the contract termination is in accordance with the terms of the service level agreement, which provide for a 60-day notice period, allowing IDEMIA to complete the work that is already under way.
“The biometric and digital identity technology project remains key to ACSA’s short- to medium-term strategy to ensure a seamless and efficient customer experience connecting passengers to their next destinations, opportunities and goals. As such, the company intends to pursue the project in the near future,” says ACSA in a statement.
It adds: “ACSA remains committed to the best interests of good corporate governance, transparency and fairness, as we continue with an independent investigation.”
The development comes after ACSA suspended its IT head on 8 August, acknowledging there is prima facie evidence of wrongdoing in relation to the project.
ITWeb exposed in February that French multinational corporation IDEMIA had been accused of holding dual status as “referee and player” in the contract with ACSA.
The issue stemmed from the implementation of biometric and facial recognition technologies, as well as e-gate systems to control passenger movement at airports.
ITWeb reported that IDEMIA allegedly, with the assistance of inside parties,
secured
the multimillion-rand, four-year contract, side-lining its empowerment partner, InfoVerge.
ACSA and IDEMIA denied any wrongdoing in the contract issuance, claiming all processes were followed correctly.
Following the ITWeb story, law firms representing InfoVerge Solutions approached the courts, requesting the contract be set aside.
InfoVerge Solutions stated it was initially part of this “landmark project, awarded to IDEMIA and InfoVerge as a 30% B-BBEE partner”.
As evidence mounted, ITWeb approached ACSA for comment and it initially denied wrongdoing, saying: “ACSA followed a prudent procurement process in the awarding of the contract for the provision of an automated border control project, e-gates and a single token for a period of 60 months. All bids were evaluated in line with the requirements as set out in the request for proposal document.”
Two days later, ACSA placed its chief information officer (CIO) on precautionary suspension, effective 8 August.
ACSA said at the time: “We have since undertaken a preliminary investigation and have now found there is prima facie evidence of wrongdoing in relation to the biometric and digital identity technology project.
“It is on this basis that the CIO has been placed on a precautionary suspension. The precautionary suspension is to allow ACSA to conduct further investigation and report back to the public on our findings.”
IDEMIA’s head office in France previously issued a statement, saying: “Compliance and transparency are top priorities for IDEMIA Public Security, which reaffirms its commitment to systematically align itself with the procedures and regulations of the states in which it operates, as is the case for South Africa.

Cape Town's MMC for safety and security JP Smith says staff are trained to identify forged documents and procedures are in place to verify and check all documentation on the National Traffic Information System.
Cape Town has recorded more than 400 instances of people attempting to use fake documents at its driving licence centres.
The city’s 18 driving licence testing centres had their hands full in the past year with hundreds of people trying to hoodwink staff into accepting dubious documents. They wanted to renew their driver’s licences and obtain public driving permits.
Between July 2023 and June 2024, the city’s driving centres recorded 430 incidents where documents submitted were questionable, said safety and security MMC JP Smith.
“It is a lot to keep track of, especially considering that we do have ongoing challenges with various types of fraud in this country,” he said.
Some people continue to buy their licences, while others will risk presenting fake documents at driving centres in the hopes of securing a licence, said Smith.
“In the past we’ve also seen attempts to cheat on learner’s licence tests, but thanks to far more stringent checks and balances such incidents are few and far between these days.”
Staff had flagged 297 suspicious licences, he said. Of these, 16 were confirmed to be fake and revoked.
Six applicants were arrested on fraud charges at the Goodwood driving centre and nine at Gallows Hill.
“People taking shortcuts is no surprise. However, it has massive implications for the individual if they are caught — but also for the safety of other road users, who have to contend with someone unfit to drive. Unfortunately many suspects make a run for it when they realise the jig is up.
“What is absolutely mind-boggling is that people will arrive to renew fake licences or obtain public driving permits with those fake licences.”
He said staff are trained to identify forged documents and procedures are in place to verify and check all documentation on the National Traffic Information System.

•    Australia and Canada have announced new immigration limits within days of one another.
•    In Australia, education visas will be restricted, and Canadian businesses will have a harder time hiring temporary foreign workers.
•    Immigrants are blamed, at least in part, for higher house prices and joblessness in Australia and Canada respectively.
Australia is capping the number of foreign students it allows in, it announced on Tuesday, after Canada on Monday announced new measures to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers it admits.  
Both countries have encouraged specific types of immigration to bolster their economies but now face political pressure to curb immigration due to voter unhappiness about unemployment, property prices, and other issues linked to growing populations.
Australia's government said it would allow a total of 270 000 new foreign students into higher education in 2025.
In the year to mid-2023, that number was 577 000.
International students were Australia's second largest industry after mining, accounting for more than half of the growth in Australia's economy last year, said Universities Australia chair David Lloyd.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged the importance of tertiary education as an economic driver for Australia but warned universities not to be overly reliant on overseas students, in part because of the implications for migration.
A large majority of Australians blame foreigners for the country's notoriously high house prices, with nearly 550 000 people moving to the country in 2023.
Education Minister Jason Clare told a news conference that the government would clamp down on "crooks" who exploited immigration visas.
Canada cuts 65 000 foreign workers
On Monday, Canada announced a sharp reduction in the number of people it allows businesses to hire under its Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) scheme.
Such foreign workers should only be hired when there are no suitable Canadian residents to do the job, but "the TFW Program has been used to circumvent hiring talented workers in Canada", the government said.
It vowed to strengthen compliance checks and reduced new limits that will effectively cut down on the overall numbers, promising more new rules to follow.
For those in low-wage positions, visas will drop to a one-year duration from two, alongside other measures that come into effect at the end of September.
The new rules include exceptions for some types of jobs popular among South African applicants, including in agriculture and healthcare.
Combined with changes from earlier this year, the measures are expected to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers by about 65 000, Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault told reporters on Monday.
Canada now counts 1.4 million people as unemployed, at an official rate of 6.4%. That represents a sharp rise in recent years, which some parties blame on foreigners.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his cabinet was also considering reductions to the number of new permanent residents Canada accepts.
"We're looking at the various streams to make sure that as we move forward, Canada remains a place that is positive in its support for immigration, but also responsible in the way we integrate and make sure there's pathways to success for everyone who comes to Canada," Trudeau told reporters on Monday.He said the government would present a broader plan on immigration levels within months.

What are the Citizenship laws Home Affairs use to allocate a child citizenship ?

The short answer

Children born after October 2014 will need a visa from Home Affairs.

The whole question

I am a foreign national and I’ve had permanent residency since 2011. I’ve been married for ten years and three of my children were born in South Africa, making them South African citizens. However, my last born was denied citizenship by Home Affairs. They stated that he should apply for a visa instead.  Shouldn’t he be a citizen like his siblings?

The long answer

The South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 2010 (Act No. 17 of 2010) came into operation on 1 January 2013 and unfortunately it means that children of permanent residents born after October 2014 no longer qualify for automatic citizenship or permanent residency. It means that children born after October 2014 will need a visa from Home Affairs.

The visa your youngest son must apply for is temporary residency, for example under the relatives category, and he will also need to apply for permanent residency.

The law now says:

“Any person born in the Republic of parents who have been admitted into the Republic for permanent residence and who is not a South African citizen, qualifies to be a South African citizen by birth, if:

(a) he or she has lived in the Republic from the date of his or her birth to the date of becoming a major; and
(b) his or her birth is registered in the Republic in accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992).

So I’m afraid your son can only become a South African citizen after he is 18 years old, provided that his birth is registered.