Dual citizenship and passports

[NGinCreator]

Hi there guys and girls. It's late and I have no idea where to search around online for this.

I'm just wondering about technicalities pertaining to dual citizenship. I entered the country in 2013 with my foreign passport as I had no SA passport or ID at the time (showed my birth certificate to verify SA citizenship). Got an SA ID since then, but haven't left the country at all. If I leave the country with my foreign passport, will I run into any issues? An SA passport wouldn't be as beneficial as my foreign one.

 

[HavocXphere]

If I leave the country with my foreign passport, will I run into any issues?

Its against the law. As an SA citizen with dual citizenship you're not allowed to use the foreign passport within SA borders or to enter/exit SA. End of story. Like not at all...can't even hire a car with it.

In practice they don't currently actively enforce that rule, but if people abuse it they will. They have also given some people warnings & grief about it. Really not worth the risk.

An SA passport wouldn't be as beneficial as my foreign one.

Carry both then? Its not that difficult...

 

[NGinCreator]

So I'll have to run around with 2 passports and 2 IDs then. I was mainly asking since I technically entered under the foreign passport and haven't left. EU citizenship makes things easy for getting around Europe, and I might be going to Europe soon, so would rather not hassle with SA documents.

EDIT: All I was told upon entering and showing my documents was that I needed to get my SA ID as soon as possible, which I did.

 

[dunkyd]

2 ID'S ? Aha, split personality. Come and go on SA passport then pack it away for the rest of the world. Easy. Don't complicate the simple !!!

 

[bwana]

Have a look at http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/822397-Another-passport-thread - essentially you need to "check-out" of SA on your foreign passport the first time. After that it's the standard always cross the SA border using the SA passport.

 

[Corelli]

Its illegal for a South African to leave the country on a foreign passport. Also South Africa doesnt allow for dual citizenship and will most likely demand you choose one or the other. If youre below 18 youre covered but above 18 you need approval by the minister in charge of home affairs

 

[Tman*]

Its illegal for a South African to leave the country on a foreign passport. Also South Africa doesnt allow for dual citizenship and will most likely demand you choose one or the other. If youre below 18 youre covered but above 18 you need approval by the minister in charge of home affairs

Although I am not an immigration specialist, our company has a consulting division within immigration, and this is what I've learned from them;

You are allowed two passports in countries that have reciprocity with dual citizenship, for example.

You may have a UK Passport AND a SA passport.

You may however not hold a SA passport and a Namibian Passport. This is because these countries require you to give up one citizenship before you can accept another.

Each country has their own rules and regulations, and research should be done on each case before assuming they all fall in the same basket.

 

[Adenoid Hynkel]

Its against the law. As an SA citizen with dual citizenship you're not allowed to use the foreign passport within SA borders or to enter/exit SA. End of story. Like not at all...can't even hire a car with it.

In practice they don't currently actively enforce that rule, but if people abuse it they will. They have also given some people warnings & grief about it. Really not worth the risk.


Carry both then? Its not that difficult...

Can't hire a car with a foreign passport? What?

 

[killerbyte]

http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/index.php/citizenship1

That page raises a few more problems.

If you obtain your British Citizenship after your 18th birthday then you lose your SA citizenship, unless you apply to retain it.

The big question for me is whether I am a British citizen already or not. When I was born I got my SA birth certificate but my father also had my birth registered with the British Consulate (I even have the fancy document to prove it.)
And according to the British citizenship rules of decent I am technically a British citizen. But how do you prove that to the SA government?

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

Have a look at http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/822397-Another-passport-thread - essentially you need to "check-out" of SA on your foreign passport the first time. After that it's the standard always cross the SA border using the SA passport.

In the OP's case that may be an issue as I'm assuming whatever visa he came in on has long since expired, likely using that passport again will get it barred from South Africa.

Also South Africa doesnt allow for dual citizenship and will most likely demand you choose one or the other.

Utter horse ****.... Why people think this crap. If you have foreign citizenship and apply for SA(OP and mines case in the thread bwana linked) you are 100's, UNLESS your foreign country of citizenship has an issue with it YMMV! Think about it, if SA had a problem with dual citizenship, they wouldn't give it to you in the first place.

If you have SA citizenship and apply for foreign you need to apply to Home Affairs to keep your SA citizenship, THIS IS A FORMALITY, there is no basis in SA law to remove the citizenship from a person, it simply can't be done, no matter what HA says.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Hi there guys and girls. It's late and I have no idea where to search around online for this.

I'm just wondering about technicalities pertaining to dual citizenship. I entered the country in 2013 with my foreign passport as I had no SA passport or ID at the time (showed my birth certificate to verify SA citizenship). Got an SA ID since then, but haven't left the country at all. If I leave the country with my foreign passport, will I run into any issues? An SA passport wouldn't be as beneficial as my foreign one.

It's illegal to leave on your foreign passport if you have an SA passport. Beyond our borders you use what you please. If you plan on using the foreign passport to enter a foreign country by air, you have to have the airline load the foreign passport into their system. I went through this recently and even had to argue with the SAA rep at my airport before they realised that was how it was done unfortunately.

I use my SA passport wherever it can take me because I work in the developing world. To the US and UK I use the UK passport.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Its illegal for a South African to leave the country on a foreign passport. Also South Africa doesnt allow for dual citizenship and will most likely demand you choose one or the other. If youre below 18 youre covered but above 18 you need approval by the minister in charge of home affairs

They tried that some time back but it failed, SA is one of the countries that dual citizenship is allowed. Both your countries have to support it for you to be a dual citizen - UK, US and SA are three that do.
BUT!!!
You have to apply to retain SA citizenship before you apply for any foreign citizenship as an SA born citizen otherwise you automatically lose your SA citizenship.

Also, don't forget, you have to abide by the laws of both countries - it's more restrictive, not less.

 

[Willie Trombone]

In practice they don't currently actively enforce that rule, but if people abuse it they will. They have also given some people warnings & grief about it. Really not worth the risk.

They should pick up that you don't have permanent residence stamp in your foreign passport and not allow you in without an exit itinerary if you try coming back on the foreign passport. Leaving on it is a bit easier (though not legal).

Another thread... maybe not all applicable since he is first SA then other citizen.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...of-SA-on-a-foreign-passport-as-a-dual-citizen

 

[bwana]

They should pick up that you don't have permanent residence stamp in your foreign passport and not allow you in without an exit itinerary if you try coming back on the foreign passport. Leaving on it is a bit easier (though not legal).

Another thread... maybe not all applicable since he is first SA then other citizen.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...of-SA-on-a-foreign-passport-as-a-dual-citizen

Not necessarily since they no longer stamp your passport with a PR stamp. These days you're supposed to carry the certificate they issued you with when you were granted PR status.

 

[dmw]

I am a Dual national and have UK/South African Citizenship.
I always enter and leave South Africa with my South African passport.
If I go to the UK, I have to enter and leave the UK with my UK passport.
Thats the rules and trying to do anything otherwise is likely to get myself into trouble.

As for going anywhere else in the world, I chose to use my UK passport as there is less restrictions as opposed to South African passports.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Anyone entering Israel are advised to request a seperate paper with their stamp and not have them stamp your passport. Everyone does it these days.

 

[Defib]

Anyone entering Israel are advised to request a seperate paper with their stamp and not have them stamp your passport. Everyone does it these days.

Pffft because the Arabs won't let anyone in there bung hole countries if they have an Israeli stamp in their passport. Pathetic

 

[Willie Trombone]

Not necessarily since they no longer stamp your passport with a PR stamp. These days you're supposed to carry the certificate they issued you with when you were granted PR status.

Interesting... useful info, thanks. That's a royal PITA though.

 

[NGinCreator]

In the OP's case that may be an issue as I'm assuming whatever visa he came in on has long since expired, likely using that passport again will get it barred from South Africa.

Didn't come on a visa. Dual citizenship by birth, born abroad. Came in 2013 before the retarded new visa laws which came in effect April 2014 (I know since my father has to get a visa to enter the country now). Lived here from 2002-2008 before that though. My countries have reciprocity.

Sorry for no replies, didn't expect the thread to get this many replies. As mentioned, this is mostly for the stamp trail. What I'll probably try and do is have both passports stamped on exit, which probably won't happen. The other option is to wait the last few years on my foreign one out and then reapply. But then the problem will just shift from one country to another. After leaving SA I plan on using my other country ID to get around the EU because of those sweet free movement laws.

Upon checking the linked threads, I don't think having the foreign passport banned from SA would really matter if I'm entering and exiting with the SA one anyway.

 

[dmw]

You have a South African Passport and surely that means, that whatever you had in your foreign passport is not needed?
Going and asking for both passports to be stamped when you leave is only going to cause headaches I would have thought.

For me, the only time I show my UK passport here in South Africa is to the airline if I am flying to a country where I intend to enter that country with my UK passport.