Stateless in South Africa: ‘You’re invisible, you don’t exist’

Many people may take for granted a birth certificate or similar official documents that are kept in a drawer and rarely see the light of day, but for those who do not have this document, this can lead to a shadow life or an uncertain existence.

The situation is thought to affect millions of people around the world who are defined as stateless, and 25-year-old South African Arnold Ncube is one of them.

Since he has no government-issued documents, washing cars in the back streets of Thembisa township near Johannesburg is one of the few ways he can make a living.

He was born in Johannesburg and, because his father is South African, he qualifies for citizenship there. However, when he tried to enroll in secondary school, he realized he did not have a birth certificate.

Since he had been abandoned by his parents (his father abandoned him before he was born and his mother abandoned him when he was 14), he could not prove his situation.

“This is a painful thing,” he says. “You’re basically invisible. You don’t exist. It’s like you’re living in the shadows. You don’t have a bank account, you can’t apply for a decent job that will make a living.”

He adds that he’s trying to stay positive, but it’s been challenging.

“When I see my peers, they are finishing school now. However, I couldn’t study any more. Too much. Depression was once my friend.”

Arnold is one of at least 10,000 stateless people living in South Africa who struggle to prove their citizenship and access public services despite being born here.

There are no official statistics on stateless persons because they tend to be overlooked. The figures are therefore based on estimates from organizations such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR and civil rights organisations.

Stateless people who do not have citizenship cannot obtain documents and have difficulty accessing basic needs such as education and health.

Statelessness is caused by many factors, including administrative barriers and inadequate record keeping. As a result, it is difficult to measure the actual number of stateless persons in many parts of the world.

Human rights lawyer and advocate Christy Chitengu was also formerly stateless.

It was only three years ago that he received South African citizenship with the help of the Human Rights Lawyers organisation, which worked on his case pro bono.

“I found out I was stateless when I was 17. My high school principal called me into his office and said he didn’t have any documents for me and didn’t understand how I got into the school,” the woman told the BBC near her home in northern Johannesburg.

“I was born in Johannesburg to two foreign parents [both from Zimbabwe] and when I was born I was given a hand-written South African birth certificate.”

But authorities in South Africa need a printed certificate.

Christy says that when she found out she was stateless, she considered taking away her parents’ citizenship, but it was too late.

“I couldn’t get my Zimbabwean citizenship because I was 16 at the time and they wouldn’t allow me to register a late birth. I would also have to physically leave South Africa to get a Zimbabwean passport, and since I didn’t have any documents to leave the country, I wasn’t allowed to re-enter the country.”

There are many undocumented immigrants in South Africa, and authorities and local vigilante groups have been trying to curb irregular migration for years.

When asked whether granting citizenship to stateless children could be seen as a reward for undocumented immigrants giving birth in South Africa, Christy disagrees.

“I don’t think citizenship is a reward. It’s a right given to someone to live a dignified life and to be seen as a human being. I think if we look at it from that perspective, we realize that we have nothing to lose by recognizing a child who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to primary school or get healthcare.”

The BBC contacted the home affairs department, which deals with immigration issues in South Africa, several times to find out how it was handling the issue of statelessness, but received no response.

Statelessness is not just a problem here, it is a huge global problem.

There are an estimated 4.5 million stateless people worldwide. Some say this figure could be as high as 15 million.

Experts believe tackling the problem requires policy changes, including allowing refugees to register their children where they were born and giving mothers the right to pass their citizenship on to their children.

“For us, statelessness is not only a legal issue, but also an issue that includes the right to development,” says Jesus Perez Sanchez, who works for UNHCR.

“The person affected by statelessness will not be able to fully contribute to the host country. Therefore, we think it is important that all issues related to statelessness are addressed as a matter of inclusivity, so that all these people on the margins of society can fully contribute to society and the economy.”

Arnold plays football with local kids in Thembisa.

After years of fighting, he now has a lawyer who is helping him fight for documents proving he belongs here. He wants to go back to school to study computer science. He hopes that having the documents will lead to a brighter future.

Additional reporting by Christian Parkinson