Retention of South African Citizenship​

In terms of Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995, South Africans are required to apply for and be granted permission to retain their South African citizenship, prior to applying for an additional citizenship. If you do not complete this process, you could stand to automatically lose your South African citizenship on voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship.

Within the wording of the Act, the pertinent sentence would be: “Voluntarily take on another Citizenship” One would have to go through a formal application process and attend a Citizenship swearing in ceremony before acquiring a Citizenship voluntarily. Please note that this is not relevant to Person’s born as Dual Nationals but only to people who voluntarily take on another Citizenship.

Immigration Assist will assist in advising the SA Government that the applicant wishes to retain their South African Citizenship

We will take care of the entire process including contacting the relevant Embassy and acquiring a letter advising the SA Government that the applicant is in the process of of applying for another Citizenship.

We will get confirmation of the above from the department of Home affairs and receive a retention letter on your behalf. We will have it expedited from Head Office in about 3 to 5 weeks.

Avoid having to wait months when applying on your own and the possible devastating consequences of losing your South African Citizenship.

Let Immigration assist take care of your retention process for you, contact us today for expert advice and assistance.