In South Africa, simply being born within the country does not automatically confer South African citizenship. The legal status of a child’s parents is the determining factor for citizenship, not the place of birth alone.
Many people mistakenly believe that a child born in South Africa is automatically entitled to South African citizenship. This misunderstanding stems from a broader misconception about nationality laws.
In South Africa, nationality is not granted solely based on birthplace. If this were the case, it could lead to a situation where individuals travel to various countries to give birth, with the hope that their child would acquire the nationality of that country.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza has addressed this confusion, clarifying that children born in South Africa to non-South African parents do not automatically receive South African citizenship. For a child to acquire South African citizenship at birth, at least one parent must be a South African citizen.
The parents can be South African citizens by birth, naturalization, or permanent residency. Without this parental connection, a child born in South Africa does not gain citizenship by virtue of their birth alone.
In contrast, some countries offer what is known as “birthright citizenship” or “jus soli.” This policy grants citizenship to any child born within the country’s territory, regardless of the parents’ nationality. Countries such as Argentina, Canada, and the United States follow this policy.
In the United States, for example, birthright citizenship has been recognized since the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868. Critics argue that this policy may encourage some individuals to travel to these countries specifically to have children who will gain citizenship.
Similar scenarios can occur in South Africa, where individuals from other countries might seek to give birth in South Africa due to its superior medical services or the perceived benefits of a South African passport. However, under current South African law, this strategy does not result in automatic citizenship for the child.
