Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill, 2003, and further update and advice on Citizenship, Renunciation and Passport Issues
Published: 27/Feb/2003
Source: Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
We have noted the gazetting of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill, 2003 on 14 February 2003. The position at present is as follows:
Until such time as any amendments to the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act are passed in Parliament and are signed into law by the President, the situation at the passport office shall remain the same. The Registrar-General (RG) will continue to deny Zimbabwean citizenship and a passport to individuals, one or both of whose parents were born outside Zimbabwe and who has not timeously in 2001 renounced an entitlement to foreign citizenship, even if s/he has previously renounced or never held, or applied for, that foreign citizenship. The only solution is either to pay the “citizenship restoration fee” of $30,000 and then apply for a new Zimbabwean passport and wait for it to be processed, or approach the High Court of Zimbabwe and have the matter resolved through litigation. THERE IS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE. We would therefore be grateful if individuals could desist from telephoning our offices or e-mailing if they fall within this category unless there is a query not addressed in this advice, or our previous updates. We are also unable to intercede in individual cases at the passport offices at this time, as it is an exercise in futility.
Download file: ZLHR comment Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill 2003