Retention

South African citizens who wish to acquire the citizenship of another country and retain their South African citizenship

The South African Citizenship Act specifically makes provision for an applicant to be able to retain their South African citizenship before acquiring the citizenship of another country.

This retention application is made available in order to prevent automatic loss of your South African citizenship status. If you acquire the citizenship of another country without first applying for and receiving written authorization for the retention of your South African citizenship, you will lose your South African citizenship automatically by operation of law.