Loading…
In depth
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is the South African government department responsible for citizenship, immigration, identity documents, and civil registry. It processes South African citizenship by descent applications.
For South African CBD cases, the DHA is the primary filing authority. Applications can be filed at DHA offices in South Africa or at South African High Commissions abroad. Processing time is 12-24 months.
The DHA also issues the South African ID book, South African passport, and maintains the National Population Register.
Related terms
A High Commission is the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth country in another, equivalent to an embassy; it processes CBD applications for Commonwealth citizens.
The Ministry of Interior is the government ministry in many African and Middle Eastern countries that processes citizenship applications.
An adoul (or adil) is a Moroccan religious notary who records civil events (births, marriages) under Islamic law, and whose records are used in Moroccan CBD cases.
A tazkira is the Afghan national identity document, which serves as proof of Afghan citizenship.
A shenasnameh is the Iranian national identity document, which serves as proof of Iranian citizenship and family relationships.
Paternal filiation is the legal principle (common in Middle Eastern and North African law) that citizenship is transmitted primarily through the father.