Swaziland Constitution Order 1967
Published: 22/Feb/1967
Constitution adopted on Swaziland’s transition from a British ‘Protectorate’ to a ‘Protected State’.
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 22nd day of February 1967
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in that behalf by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890(a) or otherwise in Her Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Citation and commencement.
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Swaziland Constitution Order 1967.
(2) This Order shall come into force on 1st March 1967.
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SCHEDULE TO THE ORDER
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND
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CHAPTER XI
CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship by operation of law.
127. On and after the prescribed date, the following persons shall be citizens of Swaziland by operation of law—
(a) any person born in Swaziland before, on or after the prescribed date;
(b) any person born outside Swaziland before the prescribed date who, immediately before that date, is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person and whose father was born in Swaziland; and
(c) any person born outside Swaziland on or after the prescribed date if at the date of his birth his father is a citizen of Swaziland by virtue of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section or section 128 or 129 of this Constitution.
Citizenship by registration.
128.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any of the following persons shall be entitled, upon making application in such manner as may be prescribed, to be registered as a citizen of Swaziland—
(a) any woman who, on the prescribed date, is married to a person who is a citizen of Swaziland by virtue of the provisions of paragraph (a) or (b) of section 127 of this Constitution;
(b) any widow or divorced wife, if her husband is, or would but for his death have been, a citizen of Swaziland by virtue of the provisions of paragraph (a) or (b) of section 127 of this Constitution;
(c) any woman who, on or after the prescribed date, marries a citizen of Swaziland;
(d) any person who, on the prescribed date, is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, having become such a citizen by virtue of having been naturalised or registered in Swaziland under the British Nationality Act 1948(a), and who makes application within such time as may be prescribed;
(e) any person who is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and has resided in Swaziland throughout the period of five years immediately preceding the prescribed date, and who makes application within such time as may be prescribed;
(f) any person one of whose parents is, at the time of his application, or was, at the date of the death of such parent, a citizen of Swaziland;
(g) any person who, before the prescribed date, has “khonta’d”, that is to say, has been accepted as a Swazi in accordance with Swazi law and custom, and who makes application within such time as may be prescribed; and
(h) any woman who, being married to a person who has been registered as a citizen in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d), (e), (f) or (g) of this subsection, makes application within such time as may be prescribed.
(2) A person who has not attained the age of twenty-one years (other than a woman who is or has been married) may not himself make an application under subsection (1) of this section, but an application may be made on his behalf by his parent or guardian.
(3) A person registered as a citizen of Swaziland under the provisions of this section shall be a citizen by registration from the date on which he is so registered.
129. Subject to the provisions of section 130 of this Constitution, the Government may, upon application made by any person of or over the age of twenty-one years, grant a certificate of naturalisation to that person if satisfied—
Citizenship by naturalisation.
(a) that he has been ordinarily and lawfully resident in Swaziland—
(i) throughout the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of the application; and
(ii) during the seven years immediately preceding the said period of twelve months, for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than four years; and
(b) that he is of good character; and
(c) that he has an adequate knowledge of at least one of the following languages—
(i) English;
(ii) Siswati; and
(d) that he intends, if the certificate is granted, to continue to reside in Swaziland.
130.—(1) A certificate of naturalisation shall not be granted to any person under section 129 of this Constitution until he has taken the oath of allegiance set out in Schedule 1 to this Constitution or such other oath as may be prescribed.
General provisions as to naturalisation.
(2) A person to whom a certificate of naturalisation is granted shall be a citizen by naturalisation from the date on which the certificate is so granted.
(a) 1948 c. 56.
Powers of Parliament.
131.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, Parliament may make provision relating to the acquisition of citizenship of Swaziland by registration or naturalisation.
(2) Parliament may make provision for depriving of his citizenship of Swaziland any person who is such a citizen by registration or naturalisation.
(3) Parliament may make provision for the renunciation by any person of his citizenship of Swaziland.
Interpretation.
132.—(1) In this Chapter—
“British protected person” means a person who is a British protected person for the purposes of the British Nationality Act 1948 by virtue of his connection with Swaziland;
“prescribed date” means the date on which Swaziland becomes a Protected State.
(2) For the purposes of this Chapter, a person born aboard a registered aircraft, or aboard an unregistered aircraft of the Government of any country, shall be deemed to have been born in the place in which the aircraft was registered or, as the case may be, in that country.
[Extract from version published on VLEX]