Even though the repeal of the dual SA Citizenship law (brought in in 1995) has been welcomed by some expats who wanted to keep their SA citizenship, it has created issues for those for whom it did not matter.
I now find myself in the position where I'm scrambling to renounce my SA citizenship as I'm due to fly into South Africa on 20 April 2026 (for 10 days only). This issue has only come to our attention in the last few weeks probably because it has not been well advertised. Also, we have been to South Africa in September and October last year and it was not raised when we entered SA from Australia and then again when we entered SA from Namibia. If we did not accidentally find out about the issue from friends, we would be none the wiser.
I have sent on 23 March 2026, a pre-paid envelope to the High Commission in Canberra to request the documents required to renounce our citizenship. These documents were tracked and delivered to the High Commission on 24 March 2026. I now have to hope to receive the documentation from Canberra to fill in and post back before we travel ...... I know that the renunciation process will take 6-12 months.
We have read stories about people being turned away at the airport, being threatened with jail etc which seemed to be unreasonable.
What is the best approach if we encounter an issue when moving through customs at OR Tambo?