Children of refugees wanting SA citizenship will have to speak one official language -

• Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi gazetted new regulations under the South African Citizenship Act.

• The regulations create a clear process for people born in South Africa to asylum-seeker and refugee parents to apply for naturalisation.

• Applicants will have to prove they have knowledge of any one of the official South African languages.

A clear process has been created for people born in South Africa to asylum-seeker or refugee parents, which allows them to apply for naturalisation after they turn 18 - but they will have to prove they know any one of the official South African languages.

Earlier in June, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi gazetted new regulations, under the South African Citizenship Act, which deal with naturalisation application, specifically for applicants born to asylum seekers and refugees. An application form is included in the regulations.

James Chapman, the head of advocacy at the Scalabrini Centre, which cares for the welfare of migrants, welcomed the new regulations and form.

Previously, Chapman explained, there was no clear process on how to apply for citizenship.

He said applicants used an affidavit to do so, but added that it wasn`t a perfect process because they didn`t know what needed to go into the application.

Now the regulations give clear guidance for people who want to apply and do not know what to include in their applications, he said.

Chapman said the process was less restrictive because applicants previously paid lawyers to draft affidavits.

Despite the appreciation for the regulations, Chapman said they would still be looking at the requirements and noted that there could be concerns about the difficulty in getting some of the documents needed in certain cases.

The Department of Home Affairs told News24 that the regulations were, generally, intended to facilitate the process of applying for certificates of naturalisation as a South African citizen.

In terms of the documentation required, the department said it wanted to know the entire history of the applicant.

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`The documents being required of asylum seekers or refugees is to ensure that indeed they have been resident in the Republic from the time they were born until the time they submit an application under Section 4 of the Act.`

Among the requirements for naturalisation in the new regulations is that an applicant must be able to provide proof of knowledge of one of the official South African languages. The department said it was a legal requirement prescribed by Section 5 of the South African Citizenship Act and that the regulation facilitated the implementation of the section.

`The applicant is expected to provide proof of knowledge regarding the official South African language by speaking or writing the said language during the interview.

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