The Western Cape High Court has condemned Home Affairs’ unlawful ‘gatekeeping’ practices, ordering immediate changes to how citizenship applications are processed.
The ruling delivered on 6 March 2025 has its roots in the Department of Home Affairs for its practices surrounding the processing of citizenship and registration applications. The case exposed systemic issues faced by applicants at the Cape Town office, primarily relating to a screening process employed by officials that was deemed unlawful and unconstitutional.
The matter was initiated by a law firm, De Saude Sadat Darbandi, along with several individual applicants who accused the department of unlawfully denying their applications based on a perceived lack of compliance with the Citizenship Act and the Births and Deaths Registration Act.
The court deemed the conduct of officials at the Cape Town office as constituting “gatekeeping,” a practice where applicants were unfairly turned away without their submissions being sent up the chain for a formal decision.
Under normal circumstances, citizenship applications should be accepted at local offices and forwarded to Pretoria for formal adjudication. However, the court proceedings illustrated a troubling reality where many individuals, including South African citizens, were denied the ability to submit their applications based on arbitrary decisions made by front-office officials.
These practices were criticised for effectively acting as gatekeepers, denying access to essential public services and undermining procedural fairness mandated by the Constitution.
Under normal circumstances, citizenship applications should be accepted at local offices and forwarded to Pretoria for formal adjudication.
The applicants detailed their frustrating experiences during testimony, alleging instances where they were wrongfully informed that they did not meet the requirements for application.
For example, individuals were refused the opportunity to file applications due to documents that were either unnecessary or not specified as requirements in the law. One applicant reported being turned away while seeking to register a birth, only to be told that he could not apply unless he provided documents that did not even exist.
“It is irrefutable that screening should not be a barrier,” observed Judge Nziweni in his judgment, stating that the officials at the Cape Town office lacked the legal authority to refuse files based on subjective interpretations of compliance.
The judge further noted that the refusal by screening officials to accept applications deprived individuals of their right to present their case to the proper adjudicators in Pretoria.
The Department has been given 60 days to implement the necessary changes and report back to the court on their progress. In his closing remarks, Judge Nziweni ordered the department to accept the applications of the individuals involved in the case and ensure that future applicants are treated in accordance with established legal frameworks. The court also mandated that costs be borne by the respondents, reflecting the gravity of the infringements of rights endured by the applicants.
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