MOKGORO J [71] In Larbi-Odam74 the Court found that discrimination on the basis of citizenship in the context of permanent employment amounted to unfair discrimination. With respect to permanent residents the Court had the following to say: “[Permanent residents] have been selected for residence in this country by the Immigrants Selection Board, some of them on the basis of recruitment to specific posts. Permanent residents are generally entitled to citizenship within a few years of gaining permanent residency, and can be said to have made a conscious commitment to South Africa. Moreover, permanent residents are entitled to compete with South Africans in the employment market. As emphasised by the appellants, it makes little sense to permit people to stay permanently in a country, but then to exclude them from a job they are qualified to perform.”75 With regard to the vulnerability of permanent residents, the Court in LarbiOdam found that first, foreign citizens are a minority in all countries, and have little political muscle. Secondly, the Court felt that citizenship is a personal attribute which is difficult to change. The respondents argued in this Court that citizenship is not a matter within the discretion of the Minister of Home Affairs, and that the state would be compelled to grant citizenship to persons who have resided in South Africa for five years and who satisfy the other criteria required for citizenship by naturalisation. Even if that were true (and it is not necessary to decide the point) it remains so that citizenship is typically not within the control of the individual and is, at least temporarily, a 74 Above n 66. 75 Id 44