- On 6 May 2025, the Constitutional Court declared Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act unconstitutional. This restores citizenship to affected South Africans.
- Home Affairs has launched a digital portal that uses facial recognition and biometric verification for secure, paperless reinstatement.
- This initiative positions South Africa as a leader in digital public services and sets the stage for future innovations such as Digital ID.
On 6 May 2025, the Constitutional Court ruled in Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs that Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, was unconstitutional.
The court determined that automatically removing citizenship from South Africans who acquire another nationality without ministerial permission violated the Constitution. It stated that those affected “are deemed never to have lost their citizenship,” restoring their nationality immediately.
To carry out this ruling, the Department of Home Affairs has launched the Citizenship Reinstatement Portal. This allows South Africans affected by the ruling, especially those living abroad, to verify and confirm their citizenship status.
Minister Dr Leon Schreiber stated, “In line with our promise to use digital tools to serve Home Affairs at home, this process involves no queues or paperwork. It instead uses facial recognition and machine learning to verify your identity and securely update your record in the population register, all from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, instantly.”
The portal offers secure digital authentication, document and biometric verification, integration with the National Population Register, and an easy-to-use interface for tracking application progress. South Africans abroad can visit the portal to create a profile, verify their ID number, complete biometric verification, and submit any necessary reinstatement applications.
Users are notified immediately if their citizenship is still valid. If it was previously revoked under the invalidated Section 6(1)(a), the portal guides applicants through a straightforward confirmation process.
Digital transformation positions South Africa at the forefront
Schreiber added, “This not only complies with the Constitutional Court order but also places Home Affairs at the leading edge of biometric verification and machine learning technology in digital public services. Very few countries offer digital citizenship services at this level of sophistication.
“Over time, the strong technology behind this portal will also help us offer Digital ID and improve the enforcement of immigration and citizenship laws by minimising paperwork and manual verification.”
He concluded, “Home Affairs is creating a digital service delivery revolution, moving into the future to transform South Africa into a world leader in smart government that upholds dignity for all.”
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