Naturalisation — deferred claim at majority, RSA-born child of non-citizen/non-PR parents (s4(3))
Citizenship in South Africa
- Eligibility
- A person born in the Republic to parents who are neither South African citizens nor permanent residents qualifies to apply for South African citizenship on reaching majority (age 18) if he or she has lived in the Republic continuously from birth to majority and the birth is registered under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992 (s4(3) of the Citizenship Act 88 of 1995). This is a deferred naturalisation claim made at majority, not an automatic status, and was the subject of Minister of Home Affairs v Ali [2018] ZASCA 169.
- Timeline
- Deferred/conditional acquisition (e.g. registration or claim at majority).
- Renunciation
- Not required
Overview
A person born in the Republic to parents who are neither South African citizens nor permanent residents qualifies to apply for South African citizenship on reaching majority (age 18) if he or she has lived in the Republic continuously from birth to majority and the birth is registered under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992 (s4(3) of the Citizenship Act 88 of 1995). This is a deferred naturalisation claim made at majority, not an automatic status, and was the subject of Minister of Home Affairs v Ali [2018] ZASCA 169.
Requirements
- Statutory age definitions: 'major' means a person who has attained 18 years and 'minor' means any person who is not a major. The majority threshold (18) is the operative cut-off for the lived-to-majority routes (s2(3), s4(3)) and for the minor-naturalisation route (s5(4)).
Timeline
Timeline: delayed. Document burden: high. Required: residency, physical presence.
Legal basis
- Deferred-claim-at-majority (s4(3)): a child born in the Republic of parents who are NOT SA citizens and have NOT been admitted for permanent residence QUALIFIES TO APPLY for South African citizenship upon becoming a major if (a) he or she lived in the Republic from birth to majority, AND (b) the birth was registered under the BDR Act 51 of 1992. This is a NATURALISATION application route (s4 chapter), distinct from the automatic s2(3) PR-parent birth route. It is the subject of Minister of Home Affairs v Ali [2018] ZASCA 169.
Example scenarios
Eligible to apply — deferred naturalisation claim at majority.
s4(3) lets an RSA-born child of non-citizen/non-PR parents apply for citizenship on attaining majority if she (a) lived in the Republic from birth to majority and (b) has a registered birth — both met. This deferred claim was vindicated in Minister of Home Affairs v Ali [2018] ZASCA 169; it is a naturalisation application ('qualifies to apply'), not automatic by-birth status.
Not eligible under this route — correct route is s2(3) (by birth).
s4(3) applies only where the parents were neither citizens nor PR holders; because Thabo's parents held PR, he falls under the automatic s2(3) by-birth route ('qualifies to be a South African citizen by birth'), not the s4(3) naturalisation application. Confirming parental status at birth is the threshold triage.
Eligible to apply — late registration does not defeat the claim.
s4(3)(b) requires only that the birth 'has been registered' and fixes no deadline, so a historical registration gap cured by late registration does not extinguish the deferred claim (text is silent on timing). Once registered and with continuous birth-to-majority residence shown, Emmanuel qualifies to apply at 18.
Not eligible under this route — continuous residence broken.
s4(3)(a) requires the child to have 'lived in the Republic from the date of his or her birth to the date of becoming a major'; the five-year absence breaks the continuous-residence condition. The documentary burden to prove lifelong residence is high (school, medical and residence records across the whole period).
Informational summary compiled from primary legal sources — not legal advice. Citizenship law changes; verify with the competent authority before acting. Last verified 2026-07-01.
Track changes to this route
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