The Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, has announced the launch of the new Home Affairs Citizenship Reinstatement Portal, a tool designed to help South Africans who previously lost their citizenship get it back more easily.

This comes after a major Constitutional Court ruling in May 2025, which found that a Section of the South African Citizenship Act was unconstitutional.

Schreiber says for three decades, this law caused South Africans to automatically lose their citizenship if they took on another nationality without first getting permission from the Minister.

The Court ruled that this was unlawful and confirmed that anyone who lost their citizenship under this provision since 1995 is now considered to have never lost it at all.

Schreiber says to help people confirm their status, especially those living overseas, Home Affairs has now created a dedicated online system.

“This platform marks another milestone in our mission to modernise Home Affairs services and ensure that all South Africans, regardless of where they live, have efficient access to dignified services. The Constitutional Court judgment ended decades of uncertainty for thousands of South Africans abroad. The new portal ensures that the restoration of their rights is supported by an accessible and secure digital process.”

South Africans can start the process by visiting myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za. After creating a profile and confirming their email, users can check whether their citizenship is still valid.

If their citizenship was affected by the old law, the portal will guide them through a short reinstatement process.

Minister Schreiber says the department is working to build a more modern and reliable Home Affairs.

“This portal is another demonstration of our determination to restore trust in Home Affairs and ensure that our services meet the needs of a modern and globally connected society.”

Today, #TeamHomeAffairs breaks new ground as we launch https://t.co/4KDE4CXVzX, where any South African can verify their citizenship and confirm reinstatement of citizenship if it had been unconstitutionally withdrawn.

In keeping with our commitment to use digital transformation… pic.twitter.com/HaYCqenatL

— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) November 24, 2025