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Re:Starlink Mini 2 by nextaccountic on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @05:46AM (#50451894)
I thought Elon Musk was South African
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by skeeter2020 on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @07:03AM (#50452429)
He's actually a citizen of SA, the US and (I just learned) Canada :)
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by _djo_ on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @08:32AM (#50453204)
It's highly unlikely he has chosen to retain his South African citizenship.
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by dboreham on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @08:49AM (#50453391)
Sometimes it's an immutable property. E.g. I'm a UK citizen whether I want to be or not.
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by spellboots on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @09:07AM (#50453603)
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by bdamm on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @09:23AM (#50453786)
Is there some reason to do this other than ideological protest?

For US citizens there is the global taxation rules. Is there something like that for UK citizens?

Re:Starlink Mini 2 by Symbiote on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @12:33PM (#50456044)
[delayed]
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by alibarber on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @09:30AM (#50453882)
To the sibling comment: It's in case you wish to acquire citizenship in another country that does not recognise dual citizenship.

I.e. that [new] country will not allow you to become a citizen of it unless you renounce your original one.

What that might actually mean practically, or if you can un-renounce it later, I don't know. [Edit]: Turns out, according to that page, yes, you can do that with some kind of bureaucratic shuffle. Daft - but sometimes these things are.

Re:Starlink Mini 2 by Spare_account on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @09:15AM (#50453693)
You've had another reply which describes the process to renounce your British citizenship, I'm wondering if you just weren't aware of that, or is there something else backing up your assertion?
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by _djo_ on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @01:09PM (#50456495)
South African citizenship can be renounced. https://dirco.gov.za/berne/renunciation-of-south-african-cit...

As for why someone might do it, some do it to ensure they're not at any risk of extra-territorial application of South African laws, especially tax laws.

Re:Starlink Mini 2 by OccamsMirror on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @08:50AM (#50453409)
Why would he bother? It's not something that expires.
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by _djo_ on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @01:07PM (#50456468)
Until a recent Constitutional Court decision, it was an automatic loss of South African citizenship if you naturalised in another country without specifically requesting retention. After that ruling, the process is no longer automatic, but a number of people chose to renounce it regardless so as to avoid any potential impact of extra-territorial application of, for instance, tax law. [0]

Members of Parliament have asked South Africa's government whether Musk is still a South African citizen, but that information is protected by South Africa's privacy laws. So we won't ever know for certain unless he reveals it. [1]

[0] https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/202...

[1] https://pmg.org.za/committee-question/28275/

Re:Starlink Mini 2 by malfist on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @08:50AM (#50453414)
He is literally a SA citizen. You can easily look this up.
Re:Starlink Mini 2 by _djo_ on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @01:07PM (#50456478)
Provide a source, please.

The only official response on this has been to refuse to provide information either way based on South Africa's privacy laws. [0]

[0] https://pmg.org.za/committee-question/28275/

Re:Starlink Mini 2 by ben_w on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @08:08AM (#50452970)
According to this, the law "mandates ICASA to regulate historically disadvantaged groups’ equity requirement at no less than 30%", rather than just saying "South Africans": https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/media-statement...

(I would like to link to the actual law, but the URL ChatGPT gave me doesn't load and I don't know if that's because ChatGPT's wrong or the South African government's website is having problems).

Re:Starlink Mini 2 by hcurtiss on Wednesday November 11, 2026 @09:22AM (#50453780)
It has to be a “historically disadvantaged group” which the legislation defines to be a variety of groups including women. It’s just more anti-white male racism from South Africa.