Ciudadanía por nacimiento: nacido en o fuera de RSA de un padre ciudadano de Sudáfrica (s2(1)(b))
Ciudadanía en South Africa
- Elegibilidad
- Una persona nacida dentro o fuera de la República es ciudadano sudafricano por nacimiento si, en el momento del nacimiento, al menos uno de los padres era ciudadano sudafricano (s2(1)(b) de la Ciudadanía Act 88 of 1995). Esta es la principal ruta basada en la descendencia de Sudáfrica: desde que la Enmienda 2010 entró en vigor el 1 de enero 2013, el nacimiento en el extranjero de un padre ciudadano confiere la ciudadanía por nacimiento (ya no "por descendencia"), y el Tribunal Constitucional de Chisuse (2020) confirmó que no se requiere registro de nacimiento y que la regla alcanza a las personas nacidas antes de esa fecha.
- Plazo
- Automatic by operation of law; no application processing window for the status itself.
- Renuncia
- No requerida
Resumen
A person born in or outside the Republic is a South African citizen by birth if, at the time of birth, at least one parent was a South African citizen (s2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act 88 of 1995). This is South Africa's principal descent-based route: since the 2010 Amendment took effect on 1 January 2013, birth abroad to a citizen parent confers citizenship by birth (no longer 'by descent'), and the Constitutional Court in Chisuse (2020) confirmed that no birth registration is required and that the rule reaches persons born before that date.
Base jurídica
Primary statute: SA Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 s2(1)(b) (subst. Act 17/2010). Operative 1995-10-06–present. Authority: Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
Escenarios de ejemplo
Los escenarios de ejemplo se muestran en inglés.
Eligible — South African citizen by birth.
Citizen by birth under s2(1)(b): a person born in or outside the Republic to an SA-citizen parent at the time of birth is a citizen by birth. Chisuse [2020] ZACC 20 reads 'is born' as stative, reaching births before the 2013 commencement, and holds birth registration is NOT a precondition (para [68]). Place of birth and non-registration are irrelevant; DHA recognition is mandatory, a question of law not discretion (Chisuse [88]).
Eligible — citizen by birth, even for a birth decades before 2013.
s2(1)(b) confers citizenship by birth on anyone born outside the Republic to an SA-citizen parent at birth, whenever born. In Chisuse the Court declared citizens persons born abroad as far back as 1969 (Amanda Tilma, b. 1969 Zimbabwe), holding four of the five old 'by descent' classes are now citizens by birth (para [81]). No registration gate applies.
Eligible — citizen by birth (straightforward post-2013).
Post-2010 the born-abroad biological child of a citizen parent is a citizen BY BIRTH under s2(1)(b), not by descent; the only operative fact is that one parent was an SA citizen at the time of birth (Chisuse [60]). South Africa permits dual citizenship for citizens by birth, so her concurrent British nationality is no bar.
Not eligible — there is no grandparent/ancestral route.
s2(1)(b) transmits citizenship by birth only through a parent ('one of his or her parents'), parent-generation only; there is no grandparent or remoter-ancestor pathway, and s3 'descent' is adoption-only. With no SA-citizen parent and no qualifying adoption, Pieter cannot claim under any acquisition route on the grandparent link alone.
Not eligible under ZA-BTH-01 — no pure jus soli.
s2(1)(b) is jus sanguinis (parental); post-2013 there is no pure jus soli, so mere birth on RSA soil confers nothing. The child is Portuguese (not stateless, so the s2(2) safeguard fails) and her parents are visitors not PR holders (so s2(3) is unavailable).
Eligible — citizen by birth (parent deemed never to have lost citizenship); confirmatory determination advised.
Because s6(1)(a) is void retroactive to 6 October 1995 (ZACC 8/2025), the mother is deemed never to have lost SA citizenship, so she WAS an SA citizen 'at the time of birth' in 2011, satisfying s2(1)(b) for Lerato. The derivative child's claim combines the deeming with s2(1)(b) but was not expressly adjudicated; a confirmatory s15 determination is advisable.
Resumen informativo recopilado a partir de fuentes legales primarias: no es asesoramiento jurídico. La ley de ciudadanía cambia; verifica con la autoridad competente antes de actuar. Verificado por última vez el 2026-07-01.
Sigue los cambios en esta vía
Las reglas de descendencia y naturalización cambian. Te enviaremos un email en lenguaje claro cuando se actualice algo que afecte a South Africa: sin spam.