The Concept
The Hearth
Domicile is your legal home.
What it is
Domicile is the legal connection between a person and a place / legal system — their legal home. It matters for the jurisdiction of courts, questions of status (e.g. capacity to marry), and the law governing succession to movables.
Two governing principles
- Everyone must ALWAYS have a domicile (the law assigns one if needed)
- No one may have more than ONE domicile for the same purpose at the same time
Distinguish
Domicile differs from mere residence (where you physically live) and from nationality / citizenship (a political link to a state).
Key Rule
Two principles: always one, never two. Distinct from residence and from nationality.
Common Mistake
Equating domicile with residence. The two can — and often do — differ.
Domicile Act 3 of 1992
The Compass of Choice
Domicile of choice
Acquired by a person with capacity who is lawfully present at a place and has the intention to settle there indefinitely — both physical presence and the animus manendi.
Who can choose
Persons 18+ (and others with the mental capacity to form the intention) can acquire a domicile of choice.
Key Rule
Domicile of choice = lawful presence + animus manendi (Domicile Act 3 of 1992).
Common Mistake
Forgetting the lawful-presence requirement. Illegal presence cannot found a domicile of choice.
By operation of law
The Assigned Path
Assignment
Those who lack capacity (young children, the mentally incapacitated) are assigned a domicile by law — for a child, the place with which the child is most closely connected (s 2 of the Domicile Act 3 of 1992).
No gap
A person's existing domicile continues until a new one is acquired — ensuring there is never a gap.
Key Rule
No capacity to choose → domicile assigned by law (a child: most closely connected place). The old domicile continues until a new one is acquired.