The recent arrest of Paul O’Sullivan was allegedly on the basis of travelling on the wrong passport.  I am sure there is a lot more to the story, although he does not have the most flawless reputation, given that he recently fell for a scam about the SAA Board chairwoman, Dudu Myeni.  Apparently, he also refuses to talk to a number of newspapers saying that they are writing false reports about him.  In any event, the blog is not about his arrest, but just that there are many people in South Africa who have foreign passports, typically those with British links, who use those passports from time to time so that they can travel to other countries without visas.

Nothing really tends to happen to them, as I understand it, but the South African Citizenship Act of 1995 does provide that this is an offense.  If you are a South African citizen you are not allowed to enter or depart South Africa on a foreign passport and if you do you are guilty of an offense and the sentence will either be a fine or 12 months imprisonment.  It is a reminder to frequent travellers that it is not merely a question of travelling on whatever passport is most convenient to you – if you are a South African citizen, as long as you remain a South African citizen, you are obliged to travel on our passport.