# Permanent Residence by birth



## WillW (Oct 8, 2017)

I am in a strange situation, not sure if it qualifies as an 'expat' question 

I was born in South Africa to a South African citizen, but registered at birth as a British citizen by my British father and grew up in the UK. As an adult I acquired Australian citizenship, and since I did not apply for prior permission I then lost my eligibility for South African citizenship. I now want to move to SA, and according to the website of the South African High Commission to Australia "South African citizens by birth, who automatically lost their South African citizenship [by not getting prior permission], never lose their right to Permanent Residence in South Africa." ( I can't yet post links, but is is on the page titled 'Dual South African Citizenship' on the sahc au site)

However, this is not listed as an option on the BI-947_Permanent_Residence_Application form. 

Has anyone else done this? Any suggestions as to how to proceed?


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## WillW (Oct 8, 2017)

Just in case it is useful to someone else -

It turns out it didn't qualify as an 'expat' question. According to the South African High Commission to Australia (who replied to my email within 2 days!!), I do already have permanent residence status by virtue of having been born there, but need to use form BI-829 "Application for the issue of proof of permanent residence" to obtain a letter, which I then take with me on returning to SA. I was quoted a wait of 6 months for the letter - I wonder how accurate that is....


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