Population Registration Act, no. 30

Introduction: Voted into South African law in 1950, the Population Registration Act, no. 30 was not repealed until 1991. All South African citizens were required to register according to racial characteristics; this classification then helped in the enforcement of other laws prohibiting mixed-race activities. The extracts reproduced here showcase the strictly apartheid nature of life in South Africa throughout much of the twentieth century.

the population registration act, no. 30, of 1950

  1. his full name, sex and ordinary place of residence;
  2. his classification in terms of section five;
  3. the date and place of his birth;
  4. his citizenship or nationality, and in the case of an alien, an indication of the fact that he is an alien;
  5. his marital status;
  6. in the case of a registered voter, the electoral division and polling district in which he is registered as a voter under the Electoral Consolidation Act, 1946 (Act No. 46 of 1946);
  7. the date of his arrival in the Union, if not born in a part of South Africa included in the Union;
  8. a recent photograph of himself, except in the case of a person who has not yet attained the age of sixteen years, or who has been admitted to the Union for a temporary purpose; and
  9. his identity number.

(2) There shall in respect of every native whose name is included in the register, be included in the register the following particulars and no other particulars whatsoever, namely:

  1. his full name, sex and the district in which he is ordinarily resident;
  2. his citizenship or nationality, the ethnic or other group and the tribe to which he belongs;
  3. the date, or if the date is not known, the year or reputed year, and the place, or if the place is not known, the district of his birth;
  4. his marital status;
  5. the year of his arrival in the Union, if not born in a part of South Africa included in the Union;
  6. a recent photograph of himself in the case of a native who has not yet attained the age of sixteen years, and, in the case of a native who is not a South African citizen, his fingerprints; and
  7. his identity number.

(3) Upon the death or permanent departure from the Union of a person whose name is included in the register, the date of his death or departure from the Union, as the case may be, shall be recorded in the register.

Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities

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