Proclamation No. 378/2003 on Ethiopian Nationality
Published: 23/Dec/2003
The 2003 Proclamation repeals and replaces the nationality law of 1930. It establishes a descent-based regime for attribution of citizenship at birth, removing gender discrimination in in relation to transmission of citizenship to children and spouses, and providing for a presumption in favour of abandoned infants found in Ethiopia. There is, however, no protection in favour of children born in Ethiopia who would otherwise be stateless. Naturalisation is possible on the basis of four years’ residence and fulfilment of other conditions; the previous requirement to be fluent in written and spoken Amharic was replaced by a requirement to be able to communicate in one of the languages of the nations/nationalities of the country.
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