South African citizenship is not an automatic right for the children of Non-South African citizens - even if they were born in South Africa


In the recent decision of Onai Muzore and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and another 4013/2021, the High Court dismissed a review application wherein the applicants challenged the Minister of Home Affairs` (Minister) decision not to confer South African citizenship on their children, who were born in South Africa. In doing so, the court considered how children who were born from Non-South African citizens obtained South African citizenship.The applicants in this case were both adult Zimbabwean citizens who were residing in South Africa and were the parents of three minor children who were born in South Africa between 2010 and 2016. Whilst the applicants were residing in South Africa, they were not permanent residents. The applicants were allegedly in possession of a work visa and visitor`s visa, respectively. Upon birth, the applicants applied for their children to be issued with birth certificates for South African citizens on the basis that they were born in South Africa, and as they did not have Zimbabwean citizenship or nationality. Notwithstanding their application, their children could only be issued with unabridged birth certificates for non-citizenship. This would allow their children to return to Zimbabwe, for them to be issued with Zimbabwean birth certificates.Unsatisfied with this decision, the applicants instituted a review application in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000, to set aside the Minister`s decision not to issue their children with South African birth certificates, and consequently not conferring them with South African citizenship. The applicants` challenge was primarily based on their children being born in South Africa. The applicants argued that their application gave rise to constitutional issues in relation to the right to fair administrative action, which is enshrined in section 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.The High Court was accordingly required to determine Whether citizenship could be granted to children of persons who were neither South African permanent residents nor citizens; Whether the applicants` minor children qualified for South African citizenship by birth in terms of section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act 8 of 1995 (Citizenship Act); and Whether the legal status of parent`s admission into South Africa could determine the citizenship of their child under section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act.In determining these issues, the court considered section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act which provides that `Any person born in the Republic and who is not a South African citizen by virtue of the provisions of subsection (1) shall be a South African citizen by birth if   (a) he or she does not have the citizenship or nationality of any other country, or has no right to such citizenship or nationality; and (b) his or her birth is registered in the Republic in accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1992`.In expanding on section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act, the court confirmed that citizenship in South African is either obtained by birth, descent, or naturalization, and that the basic principle of South African citizenship is that a child follows the citizenship or nationality of his or her parents.The court considered and emphasised that the best interests of the applicants` minor children are of paramount importance, and that it would not be in their interests to be separated from their parents. The court accordingly held that the applicants` children had Zimbabwean citizenship by virtue of them being Zimbabwean citizens, who had not renounced their Zimbabwean citizenship. This principal is founded on the basis that children inherit the status of their parents to avoid separating them from their parents. As such, the mere fact that the children were born in South Africa did not mean that they had abandoned their parent`s country of citizenship or nationality.Interestingly, the court held that in such a case, the applicants desire for their children to be regarded as South African citizens would be akin to an inter-country adoption for the purposes of the Hague Convention on International Country Adoption. This point was founded on the fact that the applicants would retain their Zimbabwean citizenship while conferring South African citizenship on their children, and as such, the applicants would have parental rights and responsibilities towards children of a different country.The court did however offer alternative recourse to the applicants in that nothing prohibited their children from obtaining South African citizenship by birth in terms of section 3 of the Citizenship Act if they met the applicable requirements. This section provides that: the parents of Non-South African citizens would have to be permanent residents in South Africa; and their children would have to reside in South Africa from the date of their birth to the date of attaining majority, in order to obtain citizenship by birth.The most important takeaway from this judgment is the weight placed on the best interests of children, and that it cannot be said to be in their interests to be separated from their parents, notwithstanding the place of their birth. Parents who find themselves in similar circumstances are reminded that whilst their children would not automatically attain South African citizenship by being born in South Africa, they are not precluded from doing so at a later stage if they follow the correct procedure in terms of section 3 of the Citizenship Act.

IMF sounds the alarm for South Africa


South Africas state finances have rapidly deteriorated over the past 15 years, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) being the latest to sound the alarm over the current fiscal trajectory. This was revealed in the report the IMF released following its Article IV Consultation with South Africa, where the institutions staff met with key government figures and analysed the states progress on reforms and fiscal discipline. The report released in early 2025 is vastly different from previous editions as the consultation took place in a much more positive economic environment.This time last year, there were very few reasons to be positive about South Africa, with load-shedding at elevated levels, a looming election, and stagnant economic growth. At the end of 2024, however, the mood was very different. Load-shedding now seems a thing of the past and will most likely never again be as severe as in 2022 and 2023. The election also saw the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU), which ensured that South Africas future was no longer dependent on the decisions of a single political party. Reform of the logistics sector is also gathering momentum, with Transnet publishing its Rail Network Statement late in 2024. This paves the way for private players to run trains on its tracks. However, the IMF is not riding high on this optimism and remains cautious about South Africas economic future, given global uncertainty and local reforms taking longer than expected. The institutions assessment showed that the balance risks remain tilted to the downside. As a result, its forecast for South Africas economic growth is below consensus at 1.5% in 2025. Concerningly, the IMF does not believe that the current trajectory will result in a rapid uptick in economic growth, a reduction in unemployment, and a slowdown in the growth of government debt. Its baseline projection shows that economic growth will hover around 1.7% annually until 2030, with unemployment marginally declining to 31.3%. One of the bright spots in South Africa, the National Treasurys fiscal consolidation, is also expected to come under pressure. The IMF projects that gross government debt as a per cent of GDP will rise from 75.7% in the current financial year to 85.6% in 2030. This is due to a combination of slow economic growth and increased spending pressures from ambitious government proposals such as National Health Insurance, the creation of a Basic Income Grant, and above-inflation public sector wage increases. There is also a more fundamental drag on the South African economy the governments high debt burden and debt-servicing costs. The IMF said South Africas public finances have deteriorated markedly over the past 15 years since the Global Financial Crisis. Since then, fiscal deficits have averaged over 4% of GDP, driven by rising wage costs, social transfers, and support to SOEs.Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and the National Treasury have tried to tackle this issue through fiscal consolidation. The government has tried to limit increases in spending to below headline inflation and raise additional tax revenue through a more efficient revenue service and, in some cases, tax increases. However, despite this, the IMF said that government revenues have underperformed expectations, and spending has continued to rise. This has led to an increase in public debt as a share of GDP from 25% in 2008 to 75% at the end of the 2023 financial year. The pandemic added further strain on the already stretched public finances. The IMF explained that rising debt, together with tight financing conditions and the loss of investment grade, have exerted significant strain on the South African economy. These factors have pushed up interest payments to close to 20 per cent of total government revenues, squeezing other priority spending, including investment. This is a significant handbrake on the local economy, with the government spending over R1 billion a day to service its debt. Debt-servicing costs are also the fastest-growing expenditure item in the budget. The deterioration of the governments finances can be seen in the two graphs below, courtesy of the IMF.




South Africans favourite travel destinations


Domestic travel during the festive season was dominated by the Golden Triangle of Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, with flights between these cities increasing compared to other times. Globally, South Africans continued to prefer flights to the United Kingdom, Mauritius, Australia, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This was revealed in Discovery Banks Festive Spend Trend report, which detailed the spending behaviour of its clients and Vitality rewards members over December and January. The bank collects this data as part of its aim to understand where and how South Africans spend their money. This enables the bank to build better products and personalise its rewards. In December, South Africans tend to spend more money much more quickly, with the average time to deplete a salary being less than 13 days. South Africans spend, on average, 15% more in December compared to the other months of the year, with expenditure on outdoor activities, movies, and childrens toys skyrocketing. However, one of the constants throughout the year is spending on travel, with South Africans spending heavily on flights in December as prices rise with the elevated demand. In Discovery Banks latest full-year SpendTrend report, the bank revealed that apart from groceries and fuel, South Africans spend most of their money on travelling. Over the festive season, Discovery Bank clients also spend heavily on travel and fully use the banks Vitality rewards programme. Over the festive period between 8 December and 14 January, there were 79,000 Vitality travellers who booked 158,000 seats. This means that Vitality travellers filled the equivalent of 900 planes and flew a distance thats equal to 420 trips to the moon and back.Data collected by Discovery Bank through its Vitality Travel platform showed that, unsurprisingly, domestic travel centres along South Africas Golden Triangle of Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. Due to the rise in demand for flights to and from these cities, prices rose significantly over December compared to other months. Discovery Banks data also showed that flight prices rose compared to a year earlier, with the average flight between Johannesburg and Cape Town rising by 16% to R2,400. The average flight price between Johannesburg and Durban rose 14% to R1,400, while flights between Cape Town and Durban rose 2% to R2,550. The bank flagged in its full-year SpendTrend report last year that there is also increased travel to Garden Routw towns such as East London, George, and Gqeberha. Discovery Bank clients favourite international destinations were the United Kingdom, Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, and the United States. These flight prices also showed significant growth, except for flights to and from Australia, which remain relatively much more expensive in rand terms. Return flights to the United Kingdom rose by 10% year-on-year to an average price of R23,900, while flights to the US rose by 20% to R38,350. The price of return flights to Mauritius and the UAE rose to R15,250 and R21,050, respectively, compared to a year earlier. In the full SpendTrend report, Discvoery Bank said Europe, including the United Kingdom, remains the most popular continent for South Africans to travel to, with 58% of flights heading to the continent. It is followed by Africa, with 15% of flights outside South Africa landing on the continent. Mauritius is the most popular destination in Africa, followed by Namibia and Zimbabwe. Mauritius saw a big increase in demand from South Africans going overseas, which Discovery Bank attributed to the rising supply of accommodation and flights.

SIU dismisses claims it’s conducting audit of marriage certificates of foreigners


Between July and September 2024, the Department of Home Affairs finalised 31 disciplinary cases against its officials.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has dismissed a social media post claiming that it is conducting a nationwide audit of the Department of Home Affairs, covering all asylum, refugee, work, business, study, permanent resident permits and marriage certificates for all foreigners from 2004 to 2024.

“This claim is incorrect,” said the SIU on Sunday.
Although the SIU is investigating allegations of maladministration at the department, it is focusing on the issuance of Permanent residence permits, Corporate visas, Business visas, Critical/exceptional skills work visas, Study visas, Retired persons’ visas, Work visas and Citizenship by naturalisation.
These investigations pertain to potential contraventions of the Immigration Act, 2002, and the South African Citizenship Act, 1995.

“The SIU urges the public not to share unverified information. Please verify accuracy through our official website and social media accounts. Sharing false information can cause confusion and harm. For accurate updates, rely on official SIU communication channels.”

SIU and Home Affairs
On 19 February, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate allegations of serious maladministration in the affairs of Home Affairs and improper or unlawful conduct by officials or employees of the State entities, and to recover any financial losses suffered by the State.
The SIU will also investigate improper or unlawful conduct by officials or employees of Home Affairs in relation to the installation of T200 firewalls.

The Proclamation covers allegations of unlawful and improper conduct that took place between 12 October 2004 and 16 February 2024, the date of the publication of the Proclamation or before 12 October 2004 and after the date of the Proclamation that are relevant to, connected with, incidental to the matters or involves the same persons, entities or contracts investigated.

Officials bust
Between July and September 2024, the Department of Home Affairs finalised 31 disciplinary cases against its officials.
According to spokesperson Siya Qoza, the disciplinary cases resulted in a range of sanctions. These include criminal prosecution, dismissal, suspension without pay and final written warnings.
The officials faced transgressions relating to irregular recruitment, violation of the Citizenship Act and the violation of the Immigration Act.

Eight of these cases came from the Free State, while six came from KwaZulu-Natal.
One of the includes that of an official who failed to abide by the required standards of ethical conduct. His trial is set to start on 6 November, facing fraud charges.
The official was dismissed from the department last year after the conclusion of disciplinary processes.
He was implicated by the Counter-Corruption Branch in multiple fraudulent transactions that benefitted mostly Pakistani nationals. He allegedly committed fraud by manipulating the systems Home Affairs uses to administer immigration.

Majority of e-hailing applications received by Tshwane Transport Dept from undocumented foreigners, says MMC


Attempting to accept the memorandum on behalf of the mayor, Transport MMC Tlangi Mogale said that many drivers were aware they did not meet the requirements for
JOHANNESBURG - It has now come to light that the majority of e-hailing applications received by the Tshwane Transport Department come from undocumented foreigners.
Transport MMC Tlangi Mogale told this to a protest by drivers who were against the ongoing impoundment of their vehicles by the city.

The drivers, who marched from Wespark Primary School to Tshwane House, demanded that Mayor Nasiphi Moya personally receive their memorandum and provide clear timelines for solutions.
The group brought traffic to a standstill around the municipal offices.
Braving the heat, frustrated e-hailing drivers remained outside Tshwane House, calling for better regulation of their industry, operational support, and the issuing of permits.

Attempting to accept the memorandum on behalf of the mayor, Transport MMC Tlangi Mogale said that many drivers were aware they did not meet the requirements for permits.
"A large number of our e-hailing operators are foreign nationals. Some can’t produce the necessary documents, and the ones making noise are those who failed to submit new applications."
Despite this, the protesting drivers continued to press for the mayor’s direct engagement