Freshness tracker · ZASouth Africa

Constitutional Court invalidates automatic loss of citizenship

In force Citizenship

On 6 May 2025, the Constitutional Court confirmed that section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act was unconstitutional. South Africans who had automatically lost citizenship by acquiring another citizenship without prior ministerial permission are deemed not to have lost it; the declaration operates retrospectively to 6 October 1995.

Who it affects

South Africans who acquired another citizenship and people previously treated as having automatically lost South African citizenship.

Sources

Primary: Constitutional Court of South Africa ↗

Verified 2026-08-02 · methodology