The Public Protector has ordered the Home Affairs Minister to review the 10-year period to apply for naturalisation and ensure it aligns with the five-year period stipulated in the Citizenship Act. The Public Protector received complaints from 18 individuals about the time it took for the department to finalise their applications for naturalisation.

She received the complaints between 2014 and 2017, says a TimesLIVE report.

Some complained about the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to reject their applications for naturalisation on the basis that their applications were made before the expiry of 10 years after obtaining a permanent resident permit. Others complained of the long period it took before their applications were adjudicated.

In her findings‚ the Public Protector said section 5 of the Citizenship Act provided that a person may be naturalised five years after being resident in SA. This was in contrast with regulation 3(2) of the Act‚ which provides that the period referred to the Act for naturalisation is 10 years.

‘The regulations … ascribe a period of ordinary residence as 10 years contrary to the five-year period specified in the Act‚’ the Public Protector said in her report. She said the department‚ in adjudicating the applications‚ improperly applied section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act and said the 10-year period prescribed in the regulations was inconsistent with the provisions of the Act.

In her remedial action‚ the Public Protector said the Minister must initiate a review of the regulations‚ specifically the 10-year period to apply for naturalisation‚ as this was inconsistent with the Citizenship Act. She said this must be done within three months.

Full TimesLIVE report