Botswana: Citizenship Appeal Cases Common in Border Villages

Siviya — The Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Mr Ngaka Ngaka, says appeals on citizenship issuance are common in villages along the border.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Siviya in North East District, Mr Ngaka said some residents faced challenges when applying for citizenship for their children who were born of dual nationalities.

He stated that it was common that Batswana from those villages had children with foreign nationals.

Mr Ngaka stressed that it should be noted that a child born by a Motswana and a foreigner qualified for dual citizenship, however, that child was required by law to renounce one of the two nationalities upon turning 21 years.

The minister stated that many Batswana still failed to exercise this law because they did not visit the civil and national registration office when they reached 21 years.

Mr Ngaka said such cases where the child was born of a Motswana and a foreigner, the child would be issued an Omang when she/he turns 16 years but the Omang would be valid for five years rather than the standard 10 years.

The minister stated that one of the common cases his ministry was dealing with was where women bear children with foreigners and the fathers abandon the child without leaving a trace.

Therefore, he said that made it difficult for the mother to trace the child’s paternal roots becoming a challenge for that child to renounce.

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