Nationality in Egypt is founded on the 1975 Nationality Law. The law was amended in 2004, to provide Egyptian women the right to transmit nationality to their children. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women welcomed the revision of the law, but expressed concerns about continuing difficulties for women in practice.
Egypt has long been a destination for migrants, whether those escaping war in Palestine who have tended to stay in Egypt, or more recent migrants escaping wars in the Horn of Africa who have tended to stay only temporarily. Egyptian law does not allow for refugees to naturalize regardless of the length of their stay, unless they are married to an Egyptian or have an Egyptian parent.
The Arab Awakening of 2011 brought new developments in citizenship, first with greater access to citizenship for the children of Palestinian fathers (which was commended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child); but later there were many deprivations of citizenship from Palestinians and others alleged to be involved in terrorist activities. The new constitution adopted in 2011 established new restrictions on the citizenship of the president and his family.
Cabinet withdrew Egyptian citizenship Thursday from three citizens holding Israeli citizenship on charges of obtaining foreign citizenship without authorization. The ruling was published in the 28th edition of the Cabinet’s official gazette. Two of the three siblings, H. A and A.A, […]
Aya Salah President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ratified amendments to the Egyptian Nationality Law of 1975, allowing foreign minors born in Egypt to either a man or a woman born in the country or with an Egyptian origin to acquire citizenship […]
On April 12, 2023, the Egyptian House of Representatives approved new modifications to Law No. 26 of 1975 on Citizenship. The new amendments pertain to articles 6 and 11 of the Citizenship Law. New Amendments Amendment to Article 6 Under the new […]
CAIRO – 12 April 2023: The House of Representatives approved Wednesday the amendment of Article 6 of law no. 26/1975 on the Egyptian citizenship, granting women of foreign origin the right to pass the nationality to their minor children whose […]
(Beirut) – The Egyptian authorities in recent years have systematically refused to provide or renew the identity documents of dozens of dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists living abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. The refusal is apparently intended to […]
Egypt has eased its citizenship restrictions for foreigners, as the country struggles to secure enough US dollars to import food for its people and repay its accumulating debts. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly issued Decree no. 876/2023, reducing the […]
Do you want to be Egyptian? In this article, we will discuss all requirements to obtain Egyptian Citizenship The requirements to obtain Egyptian citizenship: Egyptian Law 140 of 2019 sets out the controls for granting Egyptian citizenship to a foreigner. […]
Egyptian law allows citizens to be granted permission to naturalize a foreign nationality while retaining their Egyptian nationality and that makes them exempt from military service. Masry Al-Youm answers how the Egyptian expatriates obtain the approval of the Egyptian authorities […]
By Muhammad Kamal In December 2020, political and human rights activist Ghada Naguib became the first Egyptian citizen to be stripped of her nationality over her criticisms of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government and its human rights abuses. Naguib and […]
We have seen good progress in achieving equality in nationality laws with 19 countries making partial or full legal reforms and making significant commitments at the regional and global levels since Equality Now began in-depth work advocating for the reform […]
Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly approved Egyptian citizenship to 17 foreigners for bank deposits in Egyptian banks in accordance with the latest amendments passed in 2019 to laws that govern citizenship and residency regulations for foreigners. According to the decree, […]
By Amelia Smith & Laila Ahmet In December 2020 Ghada Najibe woke up to a phone call – “the Egyptian government has announced they are stripping you of your nationality”, Ghada’s friend told her down the line. That morning Egypt’s […]