Chidimma Adetshina Could Use Legal Loophole to Stay in South Africa, Says Lawyer

• Immigration lawyer says Chidimma Adetshina could qualify for South African citizenship through a provision in the Citizenship Act despite facing deportation
• The former Miss Universe Nigeria is contesting a deportation order after Home Affairs declared her documentation invalid following allegations of fraud linked to her mother's birth registration
• Her legal battle could determine whether Section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act offers her a pathway to remain in South Africa

Former Miss Universe Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina's deportation battle may not be over, with an immigration lawyer pointing to a provision in South African law that could allow her to apply for citizenship despite the controversy surrounding her birth registration.

The 25-year-old beauty queen is currently challenging a deportation order after immigration officials arrested her for allegedly entering South Africa illegally. The order follows a Department of Home Affairs investigation into her citizenship status.

Adetshina was born in Soweto in 2001 to Nigerian father Michael Adetshina and Mozambican mother Anabelo Rungo. At the time of her birth, neither parent was a South African citizen or permanent resident. Home Affairs later alleged that Rungo used fraudulent documents to register her daughter's birth, resulting in Chidimma, her mother and her son's South African identity documents being declared invalid.

Read also

Chidimma Adetshina attends Cape Town court as Mzansi calls for her deportation

Which legal loophole can Chidimma Adetshina use?

Although South Africa does not grant automatic citizenship to everyone born in the country, legal experts say the South African Citizenship Act contains a provision that may work in Adetshina's favour.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika in 2024, immigration lawyer Stefanie de Saude Darbandi explained that Section 2(2) of the Citizenship Act allows certain people born in South Africa to apply for citizenship, regardless of their parents' immigration status.

"There is a provision in the Citizenship Act that allows for her to have citizenship status regardless of the status of the parents or regardless of what her parents may have done. In order to qualify for that, all she has to prove is that she was born here, that her birth was registered in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, and that she lived here until the age of 18. I think she ticks all of those boxes," she said.

Read also

Chidimma Adetshina fires back at critics telling her to leave SA

The lawyer added that Adetshina would still need to submit a formal application to the Department of Home Affairs, which would decide whether to approve it.

Fraud Allegations Could Complicate the Case

Section 2(2) allows people born in South Africa to foreign parents who did not qualify for citizenship at birth to apply after turning 18 if they can prove they were born in the country, their birth was registered, and they lived in South Africa continuously until adulthood.

However, Adetshina's case is complicated by Home Affairs' findings that her birth registration was allegedly linked to fraudulent documentation used by her mother.

Whether those allegations prevent her from relying on Section 2(2) is expected to form part of the legal arguments as she continues fighting the deportation order.

Chidimma Adetshina responds to calls to leave SA

Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that Chidimma Adetshina responded to critics telling her to leave South Africa.

Her citizenship battle remains complicated by her mother’s alleged fraud case and South Africa’s citizenship laws.

Source: Briefly News