My husband and I are both foreigners, but we are Permanent Residents in South Africa. Our daughter was born after October 2014. After one week, we got her an unabridged birth certificate with an ID number. One year later, we went to Home Affairs to apply for a South African passport. We were told that if the child of foreigners was born after October 2014, even if they are Permanent Residents, it means that the child is not automatically born as a South African citizen. But since they already granted my daughter an ID number on her birth certificate, we could still apply for a South African passport for her. We got her first South African passport in 2015.

Her passport would have expired in six months, so we went to Home Affairs again to renew her passport. But this time they rejected us and gave the reason that my daughter's birth date is after October 2014, meaning that they will no longer give her a South African passport. We were told that even if she has an ID number on her birth certificate, she will not be granted an ID when she turns 16 years old. We were advised to apply for her passport in our original country's embassy. But the embassy also rejected my daughter's passport application, since our country doesn't admit dual nationalities.

Now, we have no idea what is the next step is, since both sides are not admitting her nationality. What can we do?

The long answer

As you know, the amendments to the Citizenship Act which came into force in 2014 mean that your daughter is no longer granted permanent residence automatically due to your Permanent Resident (PR) status, but needs a visa to be legal. In terms of the amended law, she can apply for citizenship after she turns 18, provided that she has lived in South Africa all her life and her birth has been officially registered.

As you say, your original country also refuses to give her a passport since she has a South African ID number, and neither country allows dual nationality.

Given that her passport is due to expire shortly, it would be best to get legal help from one of the organisations which have a lot of experience in dealing with Home Affairs, which is so often difficult and unhelpful.

Here are the contact details of organisations which you could approach for assistance

Can a non-South African write Grade 12 exams?

The short answer 

Yes, as long as you have some kind of proof of identity. 

The whole question

Is it possible for me to write my Grade 12 exams even though I am not a South African citizen? What do I need for this to be allowed?

The long answer

Yes, you can.

This is because of a very important court case in the Eastern Cape in 2019 in the Makhanda High Court. Judge Selby Mbenenge said that all children had the right to basic education in terms of Section 29 of the Constitution, whether they had official documentation or not.

He found that clauses 15 and 21 of the Schools Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools of 1998 were unconstitutional:

Clause 15 said that a parent had to give the school an official birt…

I'm pregnant. What visa options are available to let my boyfriend stay in SA longer than three months?

The short answer 

He could apply for a number of visas: work, critical skills, life partner or (eventually) a relative visa 

The whole question

I have been in a relationship with my Serbian boyfriend for almost two years now. We recently found out that I am pregnant. Although we are not quite ready for marriage yet, we would love to raise our child together. What options do we have in terms of him coming to stay in South Africa for longer than three months at a time on a tourist visa?

The long answer

There are a number of visas that he could apply for, including a work visa, a critical skills visa, a life partner visa or a relative visa. Given the pandemic,…

What can I do to get Home Affairs in to unblock my ID?