I have a British passport, but I was born in Zimbabwe, and have been living in South Africa for seven years, studying at Rhodes. I've been to Britain once, for eight months, when I was six, for my dad's sabbatical. I got the British passport because my parents both have them, although it was pure luck that they got them - they basically applied, and got them. I reckon somebody in the British Civil Service felt sorry for them. I had to choose between my Zimbabwean passport and my British one a few years back, and went the British route, unsurprisingly.
People often say how lucky I am to have a British passport, and how jealous they are and so on. Actually, though, I would gladly trade it in, in return for a South African one. This country is incredible, the people are incredible, Africa is beautiful, and there's a lot going on right now in South Africa (particularly with respect to the open source movement) that I want to be a part of. Why would I want to go somewhere far away where I don't know anybody, where the weather is shite?
Anyway, what with leaving the little safe-haven that is Rhodes at the end of this year, and going out into the big wide world, I can't rely on study permits to ensure that I'm allowed to stay in this country. Thankfully, my current study permit is valid until the end of 2005, so I have a fair bit of time, but I need something more permanent. If I got a job here, the company hiring me would sort me out with a work permit, but it would still be a mission to apply for, and it would still be temporary. Obviously, the ideal situation would be to actually get my South African citizenship.
My grandmother on my father's side was born in Benoni, and both she and my grandfather are South African citizens (my grandfather's father was born here or something). Apparently this qualifies me for citizenship. After much questioning and visits to Home Affairs, I worked out that I needed to fill in a "Determination of Citizenship Status" form for my dad (who isn't even in the country), so his parents details are on his form, and then one for myself, so his details are on my form: I get citizenship in some sort of weird syllogistic double-application.
I handed the forms in today, and apparently I go back in a month's time to "determine my status". If I get accepted as a citizen, I then apply for an ID book, and when I get that, I apply for a passport. Baby steps, but I get there in the end.