The Minister and Director-General of Home Affairs will abide by the ConCourt’s decision.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the South African citizenship for individuals who lost it after obtaining citizenship in another country should be reinstated.
One such case involves Philip James Plaatjies, who lost his South African citizenship in 2007 after becoming a naturalised citizen of the United Kingdom (UK), following his marriage to a British woman three years prior.
Unaware of the consequences, Plaatjies was affected by Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, which states that South Africans automatically forfeit their citizenship if they voluntarily and formally acquire citizenship of another country.
According to Section 6(2) of the Act, individuals must apply to the Minister of Home Affairs to retain their South African citizenship before obtaining foreign citizenship.
Plaatjies’ pursuit of dual citizenship led the DA to challenge the constitutionality of Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act.
In …