A couple originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have found themselves stateless after renouncing their citizenship in order to be naturalised as South Africans. While one of their children has been granted South African citizenship‚ the youngest child, who was born in 2017, failed to gain the same status and may not be able to access services offered by public facilities in SA. A law firm has brought an application in the High Court in Cape Town that seeks clarity on how long a permanent resident must reside in SA before he or she is eligible for citizenship. The question came into the spotlight last week when the public protector ordered the Department of Home Affairs to review the 10-year waiting period for permanent residents to apply for naturalisation and ensure it aligned with the five-year period in the Citizenship Act. The public protector dealt with complaints from foreign nationals who were told they needed to be permanent residents of SA for 10 years to qu...
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