Statelessness in South Africa

According to the United Nations, “stateless persons are individuals who are not recognised as nationals by any state under the operation of its law” (UNHCR, 2022). This lack of nationality means stateless individuals are often denied the most fundamental human rights including access to education, healthcare, legal employment, and even the right to marry. The UNHCR estimates that 4.4 million people around the world are currently stateless, although the true number is likely much higher due to underreporting. Many of these individuals live in the country of their birth but without legal recognition (UNHCR, 2022).

Statelessness can arise from gaps in nationality laws, systemic discrimination, the redrawing of national borders, or even administrative failures in civil registration. In South Africa, a common cause of childhood statelessness is when parents who are not South African citizens are unable to register their children’s births due to a lack of valid identification or residency documentation. Without a birth certificate, these children cannot access public education or other essential services, nor can they later acquire identity documents trapping them in a cycle of exclusion that often spans generations.

Several systemic barriers contribute to the problem of statelessness among children in South Africa:

- Parental documentation requirements: Children born to undocumented parents often cannot be registered at birth.

- Strict registration deadlines: South Africa imposes rigid time limits for birth registration, which can be impossible for refugee or migrant families to meet.

- Discriminatory policies: Specific rules targeting children of non-South African citizens obstruct access to legal identity (StatelessHub, 2024).

These bureaucratic hurdles are often enforced without due process. In many cases, officials at the Department of Home Affairs refused to accept birth registration applications without providing written reasons or offering families a clear path to appeal the decision (StatelessHub, 2024).

The Case of Primrose Modisane: A Battle for Recognition

A powerful example of the human cost of statelessness is the case of Primrose Modisane, who arrived in South Africa from Zimbabwe more than 30 years ago, at the age of five, with her mother. Though both were born in Zimbabwe, Modisane’s maternal grandmother was a South African citizen. Under the South African Citizenship Act, “any person who is born in or outside the Republic, one of whose parents was a South African citizen at the time of birth, is entitled to citizenship by birth” (Citizenship Act, 1995, s. 2(1)(b)).

Despite being legally entitled to South African citizenship, Modisane discovered her stateless status during her matric year, when she was asked to produce identification to sit for her final exams. Lacking a birth certificate or any formal ID, she found herself in legal limbo. Her mother was only granted citizenship in 2023 after years of legal struggle. However, Modisane herself remained stateless not because of her legal ineligibility, but because the Department of Home Affairs required a birth certificate as a prerequisite, even though she was born outside South Africa and had no means to obtain one.

Her status also affected her two children both born in South Africa to a South African father whom she struggled to register without her documentation. After a decades-long fight for recognition, on April 3, 2025, the High Court ordered the Department of Home Affairs to issue Modisane a South African birth certificate and ID, finally opening the door to formal recognition and legal inclusion.

This ruling represents a landmark in the protection of stateless persons in South Africa, affirming the constitutional right to identity and legal personhood, and reinforcing the state’s obligation to ensure access to documentation for those legally entitled to citizenship (Tania Broughton, 2025).

The Case of Two Sisters: A Family Divided by Law

One recent legal case illustrates the harsh consequences of policy amendments. A family legally residing in South Africa as refugees from Rwanda had two daughters born several years apart. The older daughter, born under earlier laws, was granted South African citizenship. However, her younger sister born in 2015 after changes to the Citizenship Act was left stateless (ElgeneRoos, Alysa Bunting, 2025).

Under the current law, the younger child must wait until she turns 18 to apply for citizenship, despite her family's legal presence in the country. Her parents, desperate for a solution, turned to the Gauteng High Court.

In a landmark ruling, Judge Anthony Millar emphasized the constitutional right of every child to a nationality at birth. He condemned the procedural failings of the Department of Home Affairs and declared the younger child a South African citizen, ordering her registration within three months. The judgment was a powerful affirmation of justice, humanity, and the best interests of the child over inflexible legal interpretations (ElgeneRoos, Alysa Bunting, 2025).

This case is not an isolated incident. According to the UNHCR’s 2022 report, an estimated 19 million children under the age of five in Southern Africa lack a birth certificate, highlighting the scope of the crisis (UNICEF, 2022).

In response to the increasing number of stateless children, the Southern Africa Network for Immigrants and Refugees (SANIR) issued a public call for urgent action. “SANIR urges the South African government to review birth registration processes, collaborate with refugee organizations, strengthen legal protection, and align with international conventions to safeguard these children’s rights,” the group said in a 2025 statement, “Inclusive policies must ensure no child is denied their fundamental rights based on their parents’ nationality” (SABC, 2025).

The Human Cost of Statelessness

For children in rural or marginalized communities, statelessness poses life-threatening risks. Without legal identity, they are more vulnerable to:

- Child labour and exploitation

- Forced marriage and human trafficking

- Exclusion from education, healthcare, and social services

Statelessness perpetuates a cycle of invisibility and poverty that can span generations (UNHCR, 2024).

South Africa stands at a crossroads. The legal and administrative frameworks currently in place are failing the most vulnerable children who, through no fault of their own, are denied nationality. The country has a moral and constitutional duty to ensure that no child is left stateless.

 Urgent reforms are needed to streamline birth registration processes, protect children born to migrant and refugee parents, and uphold international human rights standards. Because every child deserves more than just survival they deserve recognition, protection, and the right to belong (South African Government, 1996).

Photo by bill wegener on Unsplash

References

ElgeneRoos, Alysa Bunting. (2025, April 4 ). The right to belong: Judicial victory for stateless children. Retrieved from CDH: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/news/publications/2025/Practice/Pro-Bono-Human-Rights/Pro-Bono-Human-Rights-Alert-4-April-the-right-to-belong-judicial-victory-for-stateless-children

SABC. (2025, April 5). SANIR calls for urgent action on stateless children in South Africa. Retrieved from SABC: https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sanir-calls-for-urgent-action-on-stateless-children-in-south-africa/

South African Government. (1996). Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 - Chapter 2: Bill of Rights. Retrieved from South African Government: https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights

StatelessHub, L. M. (2024, January). Retrieved from StatelessHub: https://www.statelesshub.org/country/south-africa

Tania Broughton. (2025, April 08 ). 'Stateless' woman granted SA citizenship at last: Home affairs must issue Modisane with an ID, court rules. Retrieved from Sowetan Live: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2025-04-08-stateless-woman-granted-sa-citizenship-at-last/

UNHCR. (2022). Stateless people. Retrieved from UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/who-we-protect/stateless-people

UNHCR. (2024). Ensuring birth registration for the prevention of Statelessness. Retrieved from UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/ke/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/11/Good-Practices-Paper-on-Ensuring-Birth-Registration-for-the-Prevention-of-Statelessness.pdf

UNICEF. (2022, October 24). More than half of the world’s unregistered children under 5 in Africa - UNICEF. Retrieved from UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/wca/press-releases/more-half-worlds-unregistered-children-under-5-africa-unicef

• International Conventions
• Systemic Discrimination
• Legal Identity
• Marginalized Communities
• SANIR Advocacy
• UNHCR
• Gauteng High Court Ruling
• Primrose Modisane Case
• Citizenship Barriers
• Birth Registration
• Refugee Children
• South Africa
• Nationality Laws

• International Conventions
• Systemic Discrimination
• Legal Identity
• Marginalized Communities
• SANIR Advocacy
• UNHCR
• Gauteng High Court Ruling
• Primrose Modisane Case
• Citizenship Barriers
• Birth Registration
• Refugee Children
• South Africa
• Human Rights
• Nationality Laws
• Statelessness
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• #ChildRights
• #JusticeForStateless
• #SANIR
• #LegalIdentity
• #CitizenshipBarriers
• #BirthRegistration
• #RefugeeChildren
• Southafrica
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