Cidadania por Nascimento — nascido dentro ou fora de RSA filho de um pai cidadão SA (s2(1)(b))
Cidadania em South Africa
- Elegibilidade
- Uma pessoa nascida dentro ou fora da República é cidadão sul-africano por nascimento se, no momento do nascimento, pelo menos um dos pais era cidadão sul-africano (s2(1)(b) da Cidadania Act 88 of 1995). Esta é a principal rota baseada na descendência da África do Sul: desde que a Emenda 2010 entrou em vigor em 1 de Janeiro 2013, o nascimento no estrangeiro de um progenitor cidadão confere cidadania por nascimento (não mais 'por descendência'), e o Tribunal Constitucional de Chisuse (2020) confirmou que não é necessário registo de nascimento e que a regra se aplica às pessoas nascidas antes dessa data.
- Prazo
- Automatic by operation of law; no application processing window for the status itself.
- Renúncia
- Não exigida
Visão geral
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).
Cenários de exemplo
Os cenários de exemplo são exibidos em inglês.
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.
Resumo informativo compilado a partir de fontes legais primárias — não é aconselhamento jurídico. A lei de cidadania muda; verifique com a autoridade competente antes de agir. Verificado pela última vez em 2026-07-01.
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