NGCOBO J [124] South Africa is not the only country that denies welfare benefits to noncitizens. The United States, Canada and Britain are developed countries that have resources that far exceed ours. They may have constitutions and immigration laws different to ours. The point is that South Africa is not alone in denying benefits to permanent residents. The rationale for this approach includes, amongst other things, the policy of encouraging the non-citizen’s selfsufficiency, preventing the creation of incentives for immigration, and preserving the public treasury by confronting the rising costs of operating benefits programs. [125] There are important differences between citizens and permanent residents. In terms of the Immigration Act, they do not have the rights, privileges, duties and obligations which a law or the Constitution explicitly ascribes to citizenship. Thus, they do not enjoy political rights, they do not enjoy the right to choose their trade, occupation or profession freely. Before a certificate of naturalisation is issued, a permanent resident is required to make a declaration of allegiance to the Republic. [126] It is true that permanent residents enjoy a right to work in South Africa, the right to own houses, the obligation to pay taxes, and the responsibility to contribute to the economic growth of South Africa. But some of these privileges and duties also apply to another group of non-citizens – work permit holders. Just as permanent residents, work permit holders may establish a 77