Dual Citizenship in South Africa: Rules & Retention 2026

Hundreds of thousands of South Africans live, work, or hold a second passport abroad, and the single question they ask Home Affairs most often is whether they can keep their South African nationality at the same time. The short answer is yes: dual citizenship in South Africa is legal. The longer answer comes with one rule that catches thousands of people out every year, and getting it wrong means losing your SA citizenship automatically, often without realising it for years. This guide explains the rules, the all-important retention certificate, which countries you can pair with South Africa, and how to confirm your status. If you have just been issued a new SA ID number, you can decode and verify it on our free South African ID validator in seconds.

Does South Africa allow dual citizenship?

Yes. South African law has permitted dual (and multiple) citizenship since 1995 under the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995. A South African may hold the citizenship of one or more other countries and remain a full SA citizen, with the right to vote, carry a green South African passport, hold a 13-digit ID number, and live and work in the country indefinitely.

There is, however, a critical condition for adults who acquire a second citizenship by choice. It is not enough that South Africa allows dual citizenship; you must take a specific administrative step first. Miss it, and the law strips your South African citizenship the moment the foreign nationality is granted. That step is the Section 6 retention certificate, and it is the single most misunderstood part of the entire system.

The Section 6 retention rule (the part everyone misses)

Section 6 of the Citizenship Act says that an SA citizen who, while of full age (18 or older), acquires the citizenship of another country by a voluntary and formal act — anything other than marriage — automatically loses South African citizenship, unless they applied for and received a retention letter before taking up the foreign citizenship.

"Voluntary and formal act" covers almost every naturalisation process: swearing an oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom, taking up Australian or Canadian citizenship, naturalising in the United States. If you are about to become a citizen of another country as an adult, you need a retention certificate first. There are no exceptions for dual nationals who simply forgot, and Home Affairs does not send reminders.

How to apply for a retention certificate

The retention application is straightforward but must be lodged before the foreign citizenship is granted:

Complete Form BI-1664 (the same form used for naturalisation, marked for retention of South African citizenship).
Attach a certified copy of your SA ID or passport, a covering letter stating which foreign citizenship you intend to acquire and when, and proof of payment (around R600 in 2026).
Lodge it in person at a Department of Home Affairs office in South Africa, or at the nearest South African embassy or high commission if you are already abroad.
Wait for the written retention certificate before you attend your foreign naturalisation ceremony. Processing typically takes 6 to 12 months, so apply early.

Once issued, the retention certificate is permanent. You never have to renew it, and it covers that foreign citizenship for life. Keep the original safe — it is your proof that you remained South African.

What happens if you did not apply in time

If you already naturalised abroad without a retention certificate, you lost your SA citizenship on the date the foreign citizenship took effect. You cannot simply re-apply as a new citizen. The route back is resumption under Section 13 of the Citizenship Act, which is at the Minister's discretion, usually requires you to take up permanent residence in South Africa again, and can take one to two years. The Constitutional Court confirmed in Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs (2024) that Section 6 is valid, while noting Parliament intends to reform it. A Citizenship Amendment Bill before Parliament in 2026 may introduce a default-retention rule, but it is not yet law, so the existing rule still applies.

Which countries allow dual citizenship with South Africa

South Africa's side of the equation is settled — it permits dual citizenship for everyone who follows Section 6. The real question is whether the other country allows it, because that is decided by their law, not ours. Some popular destinations for South Africans:

Allow dual citizenship: United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, France, and Portugal all permit you to keep your South African citizenship when you naturalise.
Restrict or prohibit it: some countries — including the Netherlands, Germany (with exceptions), India, China, and the United Arab Emirates — require you to renounce your previous citizenship as a condition of naturalisation. In those cases keeping both is usually not possible, regardless of South Africa's rules.

Always confirm the current position with the other country's immigration authority before you start, as these rules change. From the South African side, your obligation never changes: get the Section 6 retention certificate first.

Dual citizenship by birth or descent

The retention rule only applies to people who choose a foreign citizenship as adults. Children are treated differently. A child who is born with two citizenships — for example, a baby born in South Africa to one South African and one British parent, or a child born abroad to South African parents — is a dual citizen automatically and does not need a retention certificate. They keep both nationalities into adulthood unless they later formally renounce one.

If your child was born outside South Africa to an SA parent, register the birth with Home Affairs so the citizenship by descent is recorded — see our full guide to South African citizenship and how to apply for the BI-24 registration process and the other routes to citizenship. Until the foreign birth is registered, the child cannot get a South African passport or ID number even though they are entitled to one.

Holding two passports: the practical rules

Dual citizens must observe one firm travel rule: always enter and leave South Africa on your South African passport. Using a foreign passport to pass through an SA port of entry, when you are in fact a citizen, can lead to fines or delays because the system expects citizens to travel as citizens. Carry both passports and present the SA one at SA borders, and the other country's passport at theirs.

Two other points worth noting. Dual citizenship does not, by itself, change your tax position — South African tax residence is based on physical presence and the "ordinarily resident" test applied by SARS, not on which passports you hold. And holding a second citizenship does not affect your South African 13-digit ID number: a citizen's number always carries an 11th digit of 0, while a permanent resident's carries a 1. Our guide to non-citizen ID numbers in South Africa explains that distinction in detail.

Renouncing South African citizenship

Some people need to give up their SA citizenship — usually because the country they are naturalising in does not allow dual citizenship. This is done formally under Section 7(2) using Form BI-1664 marked for renunciation, with a fee of around R600 in 2026. Renunciation is voluntary and deliberate; it is not the same as the automatic loss under Section 6. If you later change your mind, you would again have to apply for resumption under Section 13, with no guarantee of success, so renounce only when another country genuinely requires it.

How to check your South African citizenship and ID status

If you are unsure whether you are still a South African citizen — perhaps you naturalised abroad years ago and never dealt with retention — ask the Department of Home Affairs to confirm your status in writing. Do not rely on an old passport, which may have been issued in error. You can reach the right office through the Home Affairs online services hub.

Once your status is confirmed and you hold a valid SA ID number, you can do a quick structural check of that number on our free SA ID validator. It confirms the Luhn checksum, decodes your date of birth and gender, and reads the 11th digit so you can see at a glance whether the number reflects citizen (0) or permanent resident (1) status before you use it on banking, tax, or employment forms. If you are moving from a permit to full citizenship, our guide to permanent residence in South Africa covers the step that comes before naturalisation.

Frequently asked questions

Does South Africa allow dual citizenship?

Yes. South African law has allowed dual and multiple citizenship since the Citizenship Act of 1995. The only condition is that an adult who acquires a foreign citizenship by a voluntary formal act must apply for a Section 6 retention certificate before the foreign citizenship is granted. Do that, and you keep both. Skip it, and you lose your South African citizenship automatically.

How do I apply for a retention letter to keep my SA citizenship?

Complete Form BI-1664 marked for retention, attach a certified copy of your SA ID or passport, a covering letter naming the foreign citizenship you plan to take, and proof of the roughly R600 fee. Lodge it at a Home Affairs office in South Africa or at an SA embassy abroad, and wait for the written certificate (6 to 12 months) before you naturalise. Apply well before your foreign citizenship ceremony.

Which countries can I hold dual citizenship with as a South African?

South Africa permits dual citizenship with any country, so the limit comes from the other country. The UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, France, and Portugal all allow you to keep your SA citizenship. Countries such as the Netherlands, India, China, and the UAE generally require you to renounce a previous citizenship when you naturalise. Always confirm the current rule with that country before applying.

I naturalised abroad without a retention certificate. Am I still South African?

No. If you acquired the foreign citizenship as an adult by a voluntary act and did not have a retention certificate first, you automatically lost your South African citizenship on that date. To get it back you must apply for resumption under Section 13, which usually requires permanent residence in South Africa again and a ministerial decision that can take one to two years.

Do my children need a retention certificate?

No. The Section 6 rule applies only to adults who choose a foreign citizenship. A child who is born with two citizenships — by being born in South Africa to a foreign parent, or born abroad to a South African parent — is a dual citizen automatically and keeps both nationalities unless they later renounce one as an adult.

Does having two passports change my South African ID number or tax status?

No. Your 13-digit SA ID number stays the same, and a citizen's number always shows an 11th digit of 0. Tax residence is determined by SARS on physical presence and the ordinarily-resident test, not by which passports you hold, so dual citizenship by itself does not make you a tax resident or non-resident.

Quick reference

Dual citizenship: legal in South Africa under the Citizenship Act 88 of 1995.
The catch: adults must obtain a Section 6 retention certificate (Form BI-1664, around R600) before acquiring a foreign citizenship.
Miss it: automatic loss of SA citizenship; recovery only via Section 13 resumption.
Children: dual citizenship by birth or descent is automatic — no retention needed.
Travel: always enter and exit South Africa on your SA passport.
Verify a new ID number: use our free SA ID validator.

For the full set of routes to becoming a citizen — birth, descent, naturalisation, and marriage — see our complete guide to South African citizenship. You can find the official forms on the Department of Home Affairs site at dha.gov.za and the full statute on the government legislation portal.