South African Citizenship

Citizenship Options

• South African Citizen by Descent
• South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
• Automatic loss of Citizenship
• Resumption of South African citizenship
• Deprivation of Citizenship
• South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
• Automatic loss of Citizenship
• Resumption of South African citizenship
• Acquisition of the citizenship or nationality of another country

South African Citizen by Descent:

Anybody who was born outside of South Africa to a South African citizen. His or her birth has to be registered in line with the births and deaths registration act 51 of 1992.

South African Citizen by Naturalisation:

Permanent Resident holders of 5 or more years can apply for citizenship. Anybody married to a South African citizen qualifies for naturalisation, two years after receiving his or her permanent residence at the time of marriage.

A child under 21 who has permanent residence Visa qualifies for naturalization immediately after the Visa is issued.

Automatic loss of Citizenship.

This occurs when a South African citizen:

Obtains citizenship of another country by a voluntary and formal act, other than marriage, or;

Serves in the armed forces of another country, where he or she is also a citizen, while is at war with South Africa.

Deprivation of Citizenship:

A South African citizen by naturalization can be deprived of his citizenship if;

The certificate of naturalisation was obtained fraudulently or false information was supplied.

He or she holds the citizenship of another country and has, at any time, been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in any country for an offence that also would have been an offence in South Africa.

 

South Africa Working Visas

South Africa seeks highly skilled individuals to live and work in SA.

SA Migration Services will provide professional assistance to arrange your work visa for you if you qualify.

Work Visas are regulated in terms of Section 19, Regulation 18 and items 18 (1), 19(2), 20, 21 and 22, of Schedule A.

There are three common types of Work Visas:

• General Work Visa
• Inter Company Transfer Visa
• Critical Skills Vis

  
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If you Are Coming to Canada, be ready! – Lady who goes to work by 5am tells Nigerians

Towngist – 11 August 2022

 

A Nigerian lady who resides in Canada has advised her countrymen who wish to relocate to be fully prepared for the hustle and bustle that comes with working in the North American country.

She documented a day in her life as a factory worker and revealed that as early as 4:50 am she is already on her way to work.

The young woman said that waking up that early was a huge struggle for her, so she said that anybody that is making plans to travel there should be ready to put in that level of commitment.

She said; ”It’s is about 10 minutes to 5 and I am heading to work. It was a struggle waking up this morning, a huge struggle. This is part of the things we go through, so be ready”

If you are coming to Canada, be ready just in case your journey is like mine.”

www.samigration.com

 

 

Huge blow to foreigners – No second chance for Asylum seekers as government tightens laws

Pretoria News – 11 August 2022

 

Foreign nationals whose applications for asylum in South Africa were rejected do not automatically have the right in law to reapply.

If they do, this will allow for a never-ending cycle of asylum applications, according to a judgment by the Western Cape High Court.

This followed an application by three Burundian nationals who applied for asylum in South Africa.

Their applications were rejected as being manifestly unfounded in terms of the Refugees Act.

The refusal was automatically reviewed by the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs, which confirmed the finding.

The women subsequently turned to court to obtain an order directing Home Affairs and its various arms dealing with asylum issues, to accept a second asylum seeker application made by each of them.

Their main objective to remain in South Africa was because they wanted to study and work here, while one of the women said she came here “to find her husband”.

According to them, the act makes provision for foreign nationals to reapply for refugee status after their first application has been turned down.

Each of them earlier applied for asylum status in South Africa, but their applications were turned down, as their reasons for wanting to stay in South Africa were said to be unfounded.

In terms of the Refugee Act, a person qualifies for refugee status if it is proven that their lives would be in danger if they were to be sent back to their country of origin.

But in this case, home affairs officials noted that peaceful elections were held in Burundi in 2020 and many Burundian refugees had voluntarily returned home, so the women were not in danger if they went back.

The women accepted the rejection of their first asylum applications and did not take it on review. But they said that they were entitled, in terms of the law, to reapply.

Judge Hayley Slingers said the women were told to leave the country when their asylum applications were turned down in 2014, yet they chose to remain illegally in the country.

They now wanted the court to force Home Affairs to accept their second application.

They want to base the second application on allegations that their lives would indeed be in danger if they were forced to return to Burundi due to the government there.

According to them, the act is “an open system designed for vulnerable people to apply for asylum”.

They also argued that their interpretation of the act is that it does not matter how any times someone applied for asylum status after being refused, and that while the application is pending, they may not be kicked out of the country.

But Judge Slingers said this interpretation is problematic, as it would mean an asylum seeker could keep on submitting applications if the previous ones were refused, while remaining in South Africa all the time.

“There would then be no need to be granted asylum as the asylum seeker need only continuously apply for asylum, to be granted the right to stay in the RSA.”

The judge turned down their application and said the act did not automatically give asylum seekers the right to reapply.

She said when their asylum applications were refused and this was confirmed by the committee, they reverted to the status of being illegally in the country.

Pretoria News

    www.samigration.com
              

South Africa is facing another skills crisis

Businesstech – 11  August 2022

 

South Africa needs to increase the number of researchers and technicians it has at its disposal if it wants to remain globally competitive in innovation.

This was one of the key issues raised in the 2022 South African Science, Technology And Innovation Indicators Report, published by the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation on Friday (29 July).

Minister in charge of that department, Blade Nzimande said that the number of researchers employed in research and development (R&D) in South Africa has been on the decline since 2018, as has the number of technicians employed in R&D.

The proportion of technicians to researchers employed in R&D decreased from 32.8% in 2014/15 to 24.3% in 2019/20, and employment in R&D in the business sector declined by slightly more than one-fifth, he said.

“A critical component of a well-functioning innovation system is human capital across all the science, technology and innovation (STI) activities,” the department said.

“Previously, much of the focus was on researchers carrying out R&D activities in South Africa. However, technicians are important for the integration and translation of research ideas into demonstrators and other tangible R&D outputs. Hence, the number of researchers employed in R&D are analysed along with the technicians employed in R&D.”

The department pointed to a steady increase in researchers employed in R&D between 2010 and 2017. However, since 2017, the numbers have declined.

While South Africa’s number of researchers in 2019 (28,358) was 51.5% more than in 2010 (18,720), it said the country needs to up the number of researchers of all races to increase its innovation potential.

South African Researchers in Employment

 

The upside to the latest data is that transformation is taking place in South Africa’s STI landscape, the department said.

There is an increase in the percentage of African researchers, from 26.7% in 2010 to 35.6% in 2019. However, there is a declining trend among white researchers in the country.

While the percentage of white researchers has declined, the absolute number of white researchers was in fact on the increase from 14,789 in 2010 to 15,795 in 2017. However, the numbers dropped back to 14,890 in 2018 and further to 14,224 in 2019.

The proportion of both coloured and Indian researchers increased marginally between 2010 and 2018, the department said.

Proportion of South African Researchers by Race

 

When it comes to technicians, a more troubling picture emerges.

The number of technicians employed in R&D has been on the decline since 2015. As a result, the proportion of technicians to researchers has decreased from a high of 32.8% in 2014 to 24.3% in 2019.

“The decline in the percentage and number of technicians employed in R&D should be interpreted in the context of the movement of R&D in South Africa from the business sector to higher education, with more focus on basic research,” the department said.

However, even taking into account the migration from business to academics, the number of technicians employed in R&D by the higher education sector is also very low, it said.

South African Technicians Employed in R&D

 

Nzimande said that following the 2020 and 2021 Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s National System of Innovation has been “stretched to its limits”, which impacts the country’s ability to compete internationally.

“South Africa’s innovation performance is falling behind other middle-income countries with regard to outputs such as patents and high technology exports. South Africa performs better in innovation inputs than innovation outputs. Considering its level of innovation investment, the country produces few innovation outputs,” he said.

The resolve the issue, he said that his department will focus on the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation, which aims to future-proof education and skills as one of its core pillars.

The government is trying to strengthen a future-ready workforce at both the foundational and further education levels through restructuring curriculae and introducing a broader range of subjects and courses.

www.samigration.com