Can you be more explicit on how you got your SA citizenship in the first place? By naturalization? And your British citizenship?

 

I got my British citizenship through naturalisation in 2014 but I had to get a letter from South Africa (seeing as I am South African) to say that I can keep my SA citizenship as well, (Dual nationality) letter of retention of SA citizenship, before I could start my British naturalisation process. And this is the letter I have lost and need to get a copy of or new one

 

Oh and I was born in South Africa

 

How did you get it in the first place? Can't you it again this time?

 

You can generally get another copy from the Office that issued it, so if you applied in London they should be able to provide you with a re-print m this costs the same as applying again (£25)- Fill out all the forms and write RE-PRINT on top of the form. My husband lost his and we returned back to SA,took about 10 years to get another copy and during this time DHA refused to our son as a South African citizen

 

Thank you so much for replying, that is extremely helpful thanks so much!!!!

 

I would love to know if this worked as I'm in the same position. Got my UK citizenship through naturalisation in 2010 and lost my retention letter.

 

Hey. Same boat same problem. Lost my retention letter. Did you manage to get a replacement using the above advice?

 

Did anyone that lost their retention letter come right? My mother just lost hers and is in a panic. Thanks

 

I have also lost my letter. Does this work

 

Thank you so much for replying, that is extremely helpful thanks so much!!!!

Hi did this work for you? I'm in the same position and unsure how to get this as I need to apply for a SA port renewal & need this to do it.

 

In June, 2023, the supreme court of appeal of South Africa ruled that it is unconstitutional to take away your SA citizenship when you obtained another country's citizenship.

It is retrospect, meaning even if you "lost" your citizenship before the ruling, it is still unconsitituional. You should be deemed as you have never lost it.

You can read the decision below:

Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs and Another (67/2022) [2023] ZASCA 97; 2023 (6) SA 156 (SCA) (13 June 2023)

www.saflii.org

I just know the decision, but I do not have any idea about how to get your ID and port of South Africa back.

 

I have also lost my letter. Does this work

Did you find a solution?

 

I need a copy of my retention letter (got lost) so after the ruling that it is unconstitutional to loose your SA port I applied for a new one, got and appointment and turned up without my retention letter. I was turned down and told that the court decision was a once off and does not stand. if you do not have a copy of your retention letter you loose your SA port despite court ruling.

 

I need a copy of my retention letter (got lost) so after the ruling that it is unconstitutional to loose your SA port I applied for a new one, got and appointment and turned up without my retention letter. I was turned down and told that the court decision was a once off and does not stand. if you do not have a copy of your retention letter you loose your SA port despite court ruling.

That's not correct , you can get re-print if it was previously issued to you just need to go to the office of original application , my husband got re-print in London , just filled the forms again and added a cover letter that he already had Retention letter and needed another copy - payment was the same as new application , if you got yours in London they will have a record or it and will need to provide you with another copy

 

Please advise if we need to have certified copies of the port or just the forms and a covering letter asking for a re-print.

 

Hi there. Do you know if you have to just fill out the forms or also provide the certified copies of ports as well?

 

I sent in my certified copies of my port and marriage certificate but didn’t get them back. They even returned my pre-paid self addressed envelope unused inside the envelope.

 

Just want to say a huge thank you for posting this. I sent in my documents and payment to apply for an initial retention letter but added a cover letter saying I needed a reprint. I received a copy of my letter within 5 days - very impressed at the speed. They helpfully included the pre-paid self addressed special delivery envelope I sent inside the envelope so don’t waste your money on that. i do wonder if you actually need to pay the £25 or just fill in the forms. If you have time to spare maybe give it a go?!

 

I also managed to get a copy this way so thanks for the advice. Filled out form, wrote 'reprint required' on head of form, enclosed certified copy of port, proof of bank transfer of £25 and 1st class stamped large letter envelope (which they used). Sent it to London office which is where I originally applied. Got it in a couple weeks

 

Thank you for the info! Very helpful! Could I ask whether you needed to send both the DHA1664 as well as DHA-529 forms?

 

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your valuable information on this! I almost went all the way into London to figure this out.

Could I ask whether I need to send both the DHA1664 as well as DHA-529 forms?

Thank you,
Brian

 

Hello, thanks to all info posters, this was extremely helpful to me and I was able to successfully get my retention letter which I had also previously lost. To answer some unanswered questions above here is the checklist of things I sent.

• Two certified copies of old port
• £25 pounds proof of payment
• Filled out copy of DHA-1664 form with 'Reprint' written on the top
• Cover letter explaining the situation.

-self addressed prepaid return envelope
- sent to the high commission in London

Letter arrived with 1 week.
Note, you do NOT need to send the DHA 529 form, I didn't and got my letter just fine.
Link with the official checklist:
(Can't post links it seems, just google 'dirco retention of citizenship')

 

Hi there ~ I am facing this now and cannot find anything about how to apply for a duplicate. The SA Embassy in Washington DC keeps sending me all the forms to apply for retention.

How did you resolve this?

Thanks~

 

Because you need to fill the same forms and just include a cover letter explaining you need a re-print but the same forms must be supplied and they will probably charge you the same fee as if you were applying from scratch, my husband had to send all the forms ( he did it via SA House in London)