A second passport, without losing the first.
Which citizenships a South African can genuinely obtain, how long each takes, what they cost all-in — and the 2025 ruling that means you keep your South African citizenship either way.
Can a South African hold a second passport?
Yes — and since 6 May 2025 you no longer lose your South African citizenship by acquiring another. The Constitutional Court struck down section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act, the provision that stripped citizenship automatically, and backdated the effect to 1995. South Africans who lost their citizenship under it may seek to have it recognised as restored.
South Africa itself has no citizenship-by-investment programme. A South African acquires a second citizenship abroad — by descent where it exists, by naturalisation after residence, or by investment, which runs roughly three to six months without any requirement to relocate.
Six routes to a passport.
Costs and thresholds live on each programme page, kept current and sourced — so nothing here can go stale on a number. Timelines are the official processing windows from a complete file, not end-to-end estimates.
Four things to be clear about.
You will not lose your South African citizenship
Since the Constitutional Court ruling of 6 May 2025, acquiring another citizenship no longer strips your South African one. The provision that did so was struck down and backdated to 1995. Many international sites still say otherwise.
A second passport does not reduce your SA tax
South African tax follows tax residency, not nationality. Nothing about holding another passport changes your SARS position by itself.
It is an investment, not a purchase
Every credible programme requires either a non-refundable contribution to the state or a qualifying investment held for a set period. Anyone offering a passport without one is describing a fraud.
Due diligence is real and it is thorough
Every applicant is vetted — criminal record, source of funds, sanctions and adverse media. A refused application usually loses the processing and due-diligence fees. This is why the file is prepared properly rather than quickly.
Second passports, answered.
- Can a South African hold a second passport?
- Yes. South Africa permits dual citizenship, and since the Constitutional Court ruling of 6 May 2025 you no longer lose your South African citizenship automatically by acquiring another — section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act was struck down, with effect backdated to 1995. South Africans who previously lost citizenship under that provision may seek to have it recognised as restored.
- What is the easiest second passport for a South African to get?
- By citizenship-by-investment, the routes we advise on run from roughly three to six months, with no language requirement, an interview — usually by video — in most programmes, and no obligation to relocate. Nauru is the quickest at three to four months; St Lucia works to a ninety-day processing target; Antigua and Barbuda has the lowest Caribbean entry point at USD 230,000; and Grenada is the only one that opens a United States E-2 investor route, which South Africa cannot. "Easiest" depends entirely on whether you are optimising for speed, cost, mobility or a specific destination.
- Which is the cheapest citizenship by investment?
- Entry costs move, and a headline contribution is never the whole number — government fees, due-diligence fees per applicant, legal fees and adviser fees all sit on top, and several programmes price steeply per additional family member. As at August 2026 the lowest entry points we advise on are São Tomé and Príncipe and Nauru, both at a USD 90,000 contribution — about €78,000 — though Nauru’s is a promotional price rather than its standard one. Among the Caribbean programmes, Antigua and Barbuda is lowest at USD 230,000 and is often the cheapest all-in for a family of four, because its contribution is structured per family rather than per head. Compare all-in figures for your actual family, not headline contributions.
- How long does it take to get a second passport?
- Roughly three to six months from a complete file to approval for the programmes we advise on — Nauru quotes three to four months, St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda three to six, Grenada four to six, and St Lucia works to a ninety-day processing target once an application is accepted. The variable is almost never the government: it is how long the applicant takes to assemble a complete, verifiable source-of-funds file. Families who prepare that first are consistently at the fast end.
- Do I have to live there?
- It varies, and the position is moving. Antigua and Barbuda requires presence in the first five years — five days under the Act, thirty under the 2026 Amendment Bill, which the Prime Minister has said is already applied administratively. Saint Lucia’s Act No. 22 of 2025 inserted a residency and genuine-link requirement with effect from 1 January 2026, not yet prescribed by regulation. Grenada’s Amendment Bill 2026 (five days in year one, thirty over five years) has passed both Houses and awaits its commencement Order. St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica have each announced presence obligations that are not yet gazetted. We confirm what applies to your file, in writing, at engagement. Residence-by-investment routes such as Cyprus, Greece and Mauritius are different — they grant residence rather than citizenship, and each has its own, generally light, presence expectations.
- Is citizenship by investment legal and legitimate?
- The established programmes are enacted in national legislation and administered by government units, with mandated third-party due diligence. They are legitimate, and they are also politically live — the European Union and others apply pressure, and programmes change or close. That is precisely why the choice should account for a programme’s stability, not only its price. We publish a dated programme-status tracker for this reason.
Find the right passport for your family.
Tell us the goal — mobility, a US route, an African base, speed or cost — and we will give you the all-in figure for your actual family, and the honest case against each option.
General guidance, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Programme terms, costs and mobility change; every figure is confirmed in writing by licensed counsel before any commitment. Kestrel Private coordinates engagements through admitted local professionals; it is not a law firm.
The programme you apply under is the one that exists on the day you file.
For residence applications, we generally plan on approximately two to three months to approval and three to six months from instruction to residence card.
Citizenship applications vary more widely. A straightforward application may receive approval within approximately three months, but six to nine months to passport issuance is a more prudent planning assumption.
Programme rules, government fees and processing times can change. We therefore reconfirm the applicable terms immediately before an application is filed.
Neither approval nor timing can be guaranteed.
If a second passport is what you want, we can start your file.
A first conversation, not a commitment. Tell us who would be included and what you already hold, and we come back with the route, the confirmed terms and the timeline — or tell you honestly if it is not worth doing.