Stateless children can now apply for citizenship after home affairs

Source: Times Live, 06/09/2016

– Stateless children can now apply for citizenship after home affairs



The Department of Home Affairs on Tuesday withdrew its appeal in the
Supreme Court of Appeal concerning the case of an eight-year-old
stateless child who was born in South Africa to Cuban parents.


The department of home affairs had wanted to apply for leave to appeal
against a judgment of the high court in Pretoria‚ which declared that
the child was a South African citizen.


The child became stateless because Cuban law does not allow children
to obtain Cuban citizenship if they were born outside of Cuba to
parents considered "permanent emigrants"‚ or Cubans who had lived
outside of Cuba for more than 11 months.


South African law also gives citizenship based on the South African
citizenship of the parents.


However‚ Section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act gave these children a
chance to be declared South African citizens.


However‚ the home affairs department refused to implement the
subsection by way of making regulations‚ forcing the child to approach
the high court.


On the morning of the hearing at the Supreme Court of Appeal in
Bloemfontein‚ the department withdrew the case and agreed to an order
that the child is declared to be a South African citizen by
birth.


The department also agreed to comply with the high court order by
issuing the child with a South African citizen ID number and birth
certificate.


The Minister of Home Affairs also agreed to make regulations to
section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act within 18 months in order to allow
other stateless children to apply for citizenship.


Since section 2(2) was inserted into the Citizenship Act‚ it was
impossible to implement‚ because there was no application form.


Once the regulations are passed‚ other stateless children will also be
able to apply for citizenship and will no longer be stateless.


The child`s mother‚ a civil engineer‚ was a candidate for a programme
between South Africa and the Cuban government for the housing
department and was based in Cape Town with her husband.


The couple had been married for eight years when she arrived in South
Africa and could not have a child.


Her mother said it was a miracle baby as she was 40 when the child was
born.


"She was born in September 2008 here in Cape Town. When she was born‚
we immediately thought she was Cuban because we are from Cuba‚" her
mother said.


One of the arguments by the department appeal to the SCA was that too
many children were expected to apply for citizenship.


Lawyers for Human Rights said there was no basis to believe that too
many children would qualify for citizenship under this section.


"It is a preventative measure for special cases and will protect the
most vulnerable of children. It applies to children born in South
Africa who do not have a claim to another country's citizenship‚"
Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.