Marion Edmunds
A South African-born doctor — a specialist anaethetist — has had his citizenship cancelled by the Home Affairs Department while he was out of the country.
The anaethetist, who has been living and working in Canada for the last six years and does not want to be named, said he discovered he and his wife had lost their citizenship last December when he tried to renew his South African passport, in anticipation of a visit home.
He said he and his wife had obtained Canadian citizenship three years ago, but they had always intended to return to South Africa, though they had not applied for permission from the South African government for dual citizenship. The Canadian government does not object to citizens having multiple nationality.
“I never emigrated … my finances, my vehicles were all here. I went to Canada to work because I had an excellent job opportunity,” he said this week.
However, Home Affairs has told him that he ought to have applied for dual citizenship by October 5 last year, and, not having done so, would lose his South African citizenship.
He said he had not been warned of the October 5 deadline, and had allowed his South African passport to expire, intending, however, to renew it.
He was told by officials he and his wife would have to return to South Africa permanently to get their original citizenship back.
Should he want to return, he would have to apply for a work permit to get a job in a local hospital or practice.
According to new regulations introduced at the beginning of the month, he would have to make his application for a job from Canada, pay R350 for the application and wait in Canada until it was approved.
This comes at a time when there is a dire shortage of medical doctors and specialists, which the Health Department is addressing by importing Cuban and German doctors, and there are mounting fears in government about the brain drain.
The doctor is currently in South Africa, but has failed to persuade local Home Affairs officials to return his citizenship. He is travelling on a Canadian passport.
A number of immigration experts consulted said that they could not understand the cancellation of the citizenship, particularly in the light of section 20 of the interim constitution which specifically says: “… no citizen shall without justification be deprived of his or her citizenship”.
The Department of Home Affairs said that it had deprived two people of citizenship this year and 23 last year, three of whom had requested deprivation.