IT is hereby notified, for public information, that Cabinet has approved the following clarification and declaration of the existing statutory rules governing the renunciation and proof of foreign citizenship.<\/p>\n
Section 9 of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 4:01<\/em>] precludes the holding of dual or multiple nationality by Zimbabwean citizens.<\/p>\n The provisions of section 9 have in recent months created several difficulties of interpretation and application, resulting in many claimants being denied their Zimbabwean status and the attendant privilege of holding a Zimbabwean passport.<\/p>\n In view of these difficulties, it is necessary to clarify and declare the correct legal position governing the renunciation of foreign citizenship and the retention of Zimbabwean citizenship.<\/p>\n Accordingly, Cabinet has endorsed and approved the following rules to be applied by the Registrar-General of Citizenship and his officials in the implementation of section 9 of the Act :-<\/p>\n (a)\u00a0 A person who is a citizen of Zimbabwe by birth may not be deprived of or denied his citizenship of Zimbabwe unless he is or has become a citizen of some foreign country.<\/p>\n (b)\u00a0 A Zimbabwean citizen who holds any foreign nationality will have lost or will lose his Zimbabwean citizenship unless he has renounced or renounces his foreign citizenship, as required by section 9 of the Act, within the applicable period prescribed in that section. The relevant periods are as follows :-<\/p>\n (i)\u00a0\u00a0 by the 6th<\/sup> of January 2002, in the case of a citizen of full age who was also a foreign citizen at that time<\/p>\n (ii)\u00a0\u00a0 one year, in the case of a citizen who acquires foreign citizenship by marriage<\/p>\n (iii)\u00a0\u00a0 one year, in the case of a citizen who acquires foreign citizenship by some means other than voluntary act or marriage<\/p>\n (iv)\u00a0\u00a0 one year after attaining the age of majority, in the case of a citizen minor who is also a citizen of a foreign country<\/p>\n (v)\u00a0\u00a0 six months, in the case of a foreign citizen who acquires Zimbabwean citizenship by registration.<\/p>\n (c)\u00a0 This renunciation requirement only applies to a person who is actually and presently a citizen of a foreign country. Such citizenship may have been acquired by birth, descent, registration or naturalisation, according to the citizenship laws of the country in question.<\/p>\n For example, under the British Nationality Act 1981, a person born in the United Kingdom is a citizen by birth if at the time of his birth his father or mother is a British citizen or is settled in the United Kingdom. A person born outside the United Kingdom is a citizen by descent if at the time of his birth his father or mother is a British citizen otherwise than by descent or is a British citizen on state service outside the United Kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n (e)\u00a0 The renunciation requirement does not apply to a person who only has a potential right to acquire a foreign citizenship. A person who merely has a claim or entitlement to foreign nationality, whether by official discretion or as a matter of legal right, is not presently a foreign citizen and therefore cannot be required to renounce a citizenship that he does not actually and presently possess.<\/p>\n For example, under the British Nationality Act 1981, a foreigner who has continuously resided in the United Kingdom for 5 years may on application be granted a certificate of naturalisation if the Secretary of State thinks fit. On the other hand, a British protected person who has continuously resided in the United Kingdom for 5 years is on application entitled to be registered as a British citizen. In both cases, however, neither person becomes a British citizen unless and until he applies for and obtains British citizenship.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (f)\u00a0 A person who claims to be a Zimbabwean citizen is presumed, prima facie, to be a citizen of Zimbabwe if he produces a passport, birth certificate, citizenship certificate, national registration card or other document evidencing his Zimbabwean nationality. Such person shall not be required to produce written proof or confirmation that he is not a citizen of a foreign country in order to establish his Zimbabwean citizenship status.<\/p>\n (g)\u00a0 A claim to Zimbabwean nationality may be refuted and disallowed if it is shown that the claimant is in fact a citizen of a foreign country. Evidence to this effect may take the form of a foreign passport or certificate or may appear from the written law of the country concerned. Such evidence may also appear from records in the possession of the Registrar-General\u2019s Office or from investigations conducted by that Office into the citizenship status of the claimant concerned.<\/p>\n A. CHINAMASA<\/p>\n Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs<\/p>\n