Dual citizenship shock
AN ANC proposal that South Africa no longer recognise dual citizenship has been met with shock by citizens who hold two passports.
The party’s international relations head‚ Obed Bapela‚ has reportedly said the ANC was reviewing South Africa’s dual citizenship policy, ostensibly in a bid to stop citizens from taking up arms for Israel.
Bapela said the issue was discussed at the party’s lekgotla in July and would come up again next month before its national general council.
Indian South Africans who hold Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards will not be affected.
SK Panday of the Indian consulate in Durban said cardholders would be able to continue to travel to India even if the policy was changed.
“An OCI card is a lifelong visa. If you have it, you can travel to India at any time without a visa and it does not need to be renewed,” explained Anil Maharaj of the South African Indian Archives, which assists those wanting to attain OCI cards. “You can stay there for a week or a year; it has nothing to do with dual citizenship.”
Maharaj said the card enabled one to also buy property in India but not agricultural land.
Those applying for the card, which costs about R3 300, must be over the age of 18 and must provide ancestral colonial numbers to trace the link to India.
The concept of an OCI card was to allow non-resident Indians an opportunity to connect with their motherland by utilising a lifelong visa, added Veruschka Mungroo, managing director of Time-Travel Solutions, an agency that assists with the procedure of tracing one’s ancestry.
“The OCI card is based on one’s ancestry and not on the place of residence, as in the case of a citizenship.”
Reservoir Hills couple Eric and Kantharobie Naidu obtained their OCI cards in 2008.
Eric, 78, said his father had traced their family roots to a town in South India, Visakhapatnam.
“In subsequent trips, the longest we stayed in India was three months, but one day I hope to settle down there,” he said.
The father of four added that having an OCI card meant he was treated as a local.
“You can qualify for the same benefits as the citizens there.
“For example, if I want to visit the Taj Mahal, I will pay the entry free price that the locals pay and not what the tourists pay. It’s very convenient.”
The spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs, Mayihlome Tshwete, declined to comment on the proposal, saying it was an ANC policy discussion.
The ANC’s KZN provincial executive committee member, Ravi Pillay, said the party encouraged contact with the outside world “to broaden our outlook and help us to understand each other”. But the ANC drew the line at using dual passports to join foreign armies and work as hired soldiers, he said.
“Our policy conference documents have put this matter frankly and forthrightly on the table.
“The idea is to invite comment and discussion. It simply says that the policy on dual citizenship needs to be reviewed to make a thorough analysis of the pros and cons.
“Migration laws should be reviewed in line with international laws and standards but with the view to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the country.”
Pillay added that South Africans of Indian origin were secure in their citizenship: “The fact that these identities, such as race, language and religion, co-exist is natural and must be welcomed.”