The outcome of the citizenship determination arrived last week and as it turns out, I can apply for citizenship after all!  A Section 3 application - Citizenship based on Descent.  The process involves first the processing of the Notice of Birth, at which stage an ID number will be allocated and then the ID application will have to be processed.  Once I have this I can apply for a passport.  A South African Passport.. The only drawback is that this process is a long drawn out one and can take up to a year.  The Citizenship department is being very co-operative in all of this and have been so helpful; I have renewed respect for the work that they do.  So often we lose sight of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes by good people with really big hearts. 

 

The alternative is to renounce my claim to entitlement of Citizenship by Descent, continue with the processing of my Zimbabwean Passport and quite possibly lose the opportunity to apply for the Section 3 in future.  The affidavit which I would need to have stamped by the South African Home Affairs Department to send to Zimbabwe with the letter confirming that I do not hold citizenship and do not wish to proceed with the Section 3, may well not be so simple.  This may not be possible to run concurrently with the RSA application as they cannot just stamp a document of that nature and not lodge it as an official renunciation. 

 

So, I face a dilemma here, I cannot wait a year for a passport and it would not make much sense to renounce my citizenship opportunity, considering my ties with South Africa, the work I intend to do as A Goodwill Ambassador, the potential that this journey could have in creating awareness for disability through so many countries in Africa.  I have decided to submit my Section 3 application, as the longer I wait the longer it will take to process.  If Home Affairs agree to assist me with an informal renunciation for the purposes of acquiring a passport for this purpose, considering all that is at stake, I will proceed with that. 

 

Otherwise I will appeal to the process and commitment of the services of The Department of Home Affairs in South Africa to process my documentation as quickly as possible.  I have to believe that if this is the only route that I can go, then somehow the process will run smoothly and efficiently and very, very quickly.  Miracles do happen.

 

Tomorrow I will go for my mugshots :) and submit my application.  All the while hoping for a break in the storm clouds.

 

to be continued.........