The Department of Home Affairs has launched a new citizenship reinstatement portal. This was announced on Monday by Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber.
“The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, today announced the launch of
the groundbreaking new Home Affairs Citizenship Reinstatement Portal. A major
step forward in the department’s digital transformation programme to deliver dignity for all South Africans,” said Schreiber’s spokesperson Carli van Wyk.
ConCourt judgment triggered move
Van Wyk said Schreiber’s announcement follows the Constitutional Court judgment delivered on May 6 in the matter of the Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs.
“In its ruling, the Court declared Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act, 1995,
unconstitutional. This provision had previously caused South Africans to automatically lose their citizenship if they acquired another nationality without prior permission from the minister.
“The judgment, which took immediate effect, confirmed the earlier Supreme Court
of Appeal ruling and restored South African citizenship to all individuals who had lost it under this provision since 6 October 1995. The court held that stripping citizens of their nationality without sufficient cause was unconstitutional and affirmed that affected individuals are now deemed never to have lost their citizenship,” said Van Wyk.
“To administratively process the outcome of the court ruling, the Department of
Home Affairs has developed the Citizenship Reinstatement Portal. This is to help affected South Africans, particularly those living abroad, verify and confirm their status. And where necessary, complete any remaining steps for the department to administratively process their citizenship,” said Van Wyk.
Schreiber said: “In keeping with our commitment to use digital transformation to deliver Home Affairs @ home, this process involves no queues and no paperwork whatsoever. Instead, it uses facial recognition and machine learning to verify your identity and securely correct your record on the population register. All from the comfort of your own home,
anywhere in the world, instantly.
Restores loss citizenship
“This not only ensures compliance with the Constitutional Court order. It also positions Home Affairs at the global cutting edge of biometric verification and machine learning technology to deliver digital public infrastructure. Very few countries on earth offer digital citizenship services at this level of sophistication.
“Over time, the powerful underlying technology we have built for this portal will also enable us to deliver Digital ID while enhancing immigration and citizenship law enforcement by eliminating reliance on paperwork and manual verification.”
Van Wyk said the portal provides secure digital authentication. It also provides advanced document and biometric verification, integration with the National Population Register, and a user-friendly interface to track application progress.
“South Africans abroad can begin the process by visiting myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za. After creating a profile and confirming their email, users can verify their citizenship status using their ID number. They can complete biometric verification, and, where necessary, proceed with a confirmation of reinstatement application.
Cutting edge technology
“If citizenship remains valid, users will be notified immediately. If it was previously
revoked under the now invalidated Section 6(1)(a), the portal will guide applicants through a simple process to confirm their details and submit their reinstatement,” said Van Wyk.
“Home Affairs is building a digital service delivery revolution. It is storming into the future to transform South Africa into a world leader in smart government that delivers dignity for all,” concluded Schreiber.
