What procedures do I need to take to get citizenship, as my mother is South African but my father is a Lesotho citizen and I was born in Lesotho, though I have been studying in South Africa?

The long answer

The Consitutional Court ruled in July 2020 that children born in other countries with at least one South African parent are entitled to citizenship. As you were born outside South Africa and one of your parents was South African, and the birth was registered, you should be able to claim South African citizenship by descent. As you have a birth certificate with your parents’ information on it, your birth was registered in Lesotho. 

Because your mother is South African and has a South African identity document, I can’t think that it should be a problem now that only her first name appears on her ID, but it does seem very unusual. 

The Western Cape government website spelled out in 2019 what the South African ID number is: 

“It is a 13-digit number which is defined by the following format: YYMMDDSSSSCAZ. The first 6 digits (YYMMDD) are based on your date of birth. 20 February 1992 is displayed as 920220. The next 4 digits (SSSS) are used to define your gender.  Females are assigned numbers in the range 0000-4999 and males from 5000-9999. The next digit (C) shows if you're an SA citizen status with 0 denoting that you were born a SA citizen and 1 denoting that you're a permanent resident. The last digit (Z) is a checksum digit – used to check that the number sequence is accurate using a set formula called the Luhn algorithm.”

This is the list of documents required by Home Affairs in South Africa for an application for citizenship by descent: 

• Completed BI-24 form to be endorsed by South African parent of child being registered;

• Completed BI-529. Child and South African parent;

• Original or notarised copy of foreign birth certificate;

• Original or notarised copies of South African parents' proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, ID book, or valid passport;

• Original or notarised copy of parents' marriage certificate, (if applicable);

• Police report from country of origin as well as one from South Africa (for applicant of 15 years and above);

• An interview report for both the applicant and the South African parent (15 years and above);

• Proof of Paternity / DNA tests (15 years and above).

As it is your mother that is South African, not your father, I don’t think they should require a DNA test from your father. However, they might want one from you and your mother.

If they do, according to a 2023 article on DNA test prices in Johannesburg by briefly.co.za, it costs about R1,200 per person. So, if you and your mother both had to be tested, it would cost about R2,400.

Home Affairs says that to book an appointment, you should visit www.dha.gov.za and click on BABS (Branch Appointment Booking System).

If you run into difficulties with Home Affairs, you could consult one of the following organisations which have a lot of experience in dealing with Home Affairs:

• Lawyers for Human Rights

Musina 015 534 2203

Durban: 031 301 0531

Pretoria: 012 320 2943

Johannesburg: 011 339 1960

Cape Town: 021 424 8561

• Legal Resources Centre

Email:info@lrc.org.za

Johannesburg: 011 836 9831

Cape Town: 021 481 3000.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie