Citizenship in Botswana is regulated by the 1998 Citizenship Act, as amended most recently in 2024. The Act provides for nationality on the basis of descent, but the 2024 amendments added protection for children found in Botswana of unknown parents, and the possibility for long-term residents who would otherwise be stateless to acquire citizenship. In addition, dual nationality was permitted for the first time for adults.
Gender discrimination was removed in Botswanan citizenship law in 1995, following the ground-breaking Unity Dow case, in which the Appeal Court ruled that discrimination in the transmission of citizenship to the children and spouse of a female Botswanan citizen was unconstitutional. At the same time, however, the law removed all rights based on birth in the territory. Another high profile case related to citizenship in Botswana was the case of John Modise, in which the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found Botswana in violation of the African Charter for retroactive refusal to recognise Modise’s nationality once he decided to run for president.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child, considering the initial report of Botswana in 2004, welcomed the adoption of the Birth and Death Registration Act which made birth registration compulsory. However, in 2019 the Committee remained concerned about the significant number of children who are not registered, particularly children in remote areas, refugee and asylum-seeking children and abandoned children, and the lack of safeguards to prevent refugee and asylum-seeking children from statelessness.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, commends the Government of the Republic of Botswana for granting citizenship to 69 refugees on the commemoration of this year’s World Refugee Day and the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention in Dukwi Refugee […]
Edited by ‘Gbenga Sesan and Tony Roberts Millions of citizens in Africa are unable to obtain essential services that they are entitled to as new digital ID systems continue being imposed across the continent, requiring them to provide biometric and […]
The Government of Botswana has reaffirmed its commitment to ratifying key international covenants focused on human rights, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Speaking on Friday […]
Botswana is making progress in taking pivotal steps to enhance its human rights framework. Government officials and United Nations representatives gathered on Tuesday for a national consultation on the country’s accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural […]
Botswana’s forthcoming citizenship by investment program logged 464 registrations of interest across 77 countries through its portal during its first week, according to data from Arton Capital, the firm the government contracted to develop the program. The program has a […]
NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Botswana President Duma Boko said on Friday his country will establish a citizenship-by-investment program, as the southern African country looks to diversify its economy away from its largest export, diamonds. Botswana’s budget has been […]
Arton Capital, the world-leading investment migration consultancy, has today announced an exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government of Botswana to build and launch a new Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP). The CIP is set to revolutionise investor access […]
Implementation of the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2.0 Extracts relevant to Africa: Action 1. Resolve major situations of statelessness In May, Kenya’s parliamentary committee submitted the draft Amendment Bill to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act to the […]
Implementation of the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness Extracts relevant to Africa Action 1: Resolve existing major situations of statelessness In December, in Mali, with UNHCR’s support, a workshop organized by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, focused […]
By Mpho Lakaje Botswana’s new president has told the BBC that he wants undocumented Zimbabweans to be legalised by granting them temporary work and residence permits. “They do jobs that would otherwise not get done,” Duma Boko told the BBC […]
Amending the Citizenship Act 1998 (Cap.1.01 of the Laws of Botswana), to provide for dual citizenship to be permitted for adults (previously only allowed for children), for the right to citizenship for foundlings, and a right to register as a […]
Extracts relevant to Africa: • The new Global Alliance to End Statelessness, set to be officially launched on 14 October at the high-level segment on statelessness, has already garnered support and membership of over 80 entities (States, regional organizations, UN, […]