Characters getting on in South Africa protected by foreign father (8)
I believe the answer is:
personae
'characters' is the definition.
('persona' can be a synonym of 'character')
'on in south africa protected by foreign father' is the wordplay.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'south africa' becomes 'sa' (abbreviation).
'protected by' indicates putting letters inside.
'foreign father' becomes 'pere' (French for father).
'on' inserted inside 'sa' is 'sona'.
'sona' placed into 'pere' is 'PERSONAE'.
'getting' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for personae that I've seen before include "See 1" , "Dramatis ..., characters in a play" , "Theatrical roles" .)