Great News for South Africans as DHA Fast Tracks Citizenship Reinstatement

For thousands of South Africans scattered across the globe, the start of 2026 brings an unexpected victory. The Department of Home Affairs has officially launched the second and final phase of its online citizenship reinstatement portal, offering a fast, seamless way for people to reclaim a citizenship they never realised they had lost.

Why So Many Citizens Were Affected

This moment has been a long time coming. For years, South Africans who took up citizenship in another country were vulnerable to a legal technicality hidden inside section 6(1) of the Citizenship Act. The law stated that if a South African voluntarily acquired a new nationality without getting advance permission from the Minister of Home Affairs, they would automatically lose their South African citizenship.

The problem was that thousands of people abroad had no idea this requirement even existed. Many only learned they were no longer considered South African when applying for a passport, home affairs document, or attempting to move back home.

The Constitutional Court stepped in during May 2025, confirming earlier rulings that the law was unconstitutional because it clashed directly with Section 20 of the Constitution. That section makes one thing clear: no South African can be stripped of their citizenship. The court also noted that losing citizenship erodes fundamental rights like the ability to vote, reside in the country, run for public office and choose an occupation freely.

A Digital Fix to a Long Running Problem

To repair the damage, Home Affairs rolled out an online reinstatement portal in late 2025. Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber introduced the first phase in November, setting up a secure, paperless system for people worldwide to check and confirm their citizenship status.

During this first phase, over 12 000 people used the system to check where they stood. Of those, more than 1 000 successfully had their citizenship reinstated.

The department used the initial rollout to test the system, streamline identity checks and remove paperwork barriers that had historically slowed everything down.

How the New Phase Changes the Game

Phase two is where the transformation really kicks in. The upgraded system, now branded as Citizenship Reinstatement Portal 2.0, introduces real-time automated processing.

Turnaround times that once stretched to nearly two months have now been cut to as little as one hour for qualifying applicants.

Once a record is confirmed, a person’s status on the National Population Register is updated instantly. They’re notified in real time, allowing them to apply for a South African passport or Smart ID card without further delays.

If the system cannot verify someone immediately, the application is handed to a specialist to handle manually. This ensures no one gets stuck in digital limbo.

A Preview of Home Affairs’ Digital Future

Schreiber says the technology behind the portal gives South Africans a look at what Home Affairs envisions for the future. The portal uses biometric verification that allows users to take a secure selfie, scan their passport and verify their identity remotely.

This is part of the department’s wider “Home Affairs @ Home” programme, aimed at making essential services accessible online. In the future, everything from Smart ID applications to passport renewals could be done without visiting a brick-and-mortar Home Affairs office.

A Major Step Forward for Citizens at Home and Abroad

The revamped portal does more than fix a legal problem. It restores something deeply personal for many South Africans who have always carried a strong emotional link to home, even from thousands of kilometres away. Now, reclaiming that identity is quicker, simpler and handled with the dignity that citizenship deserves.

{Source:Business Tech}

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