It is a key principle of international law that a person has the right to change his or her nationality. This means that it should be possible for someone to acquire citizenship as an adult, by the process known as naturalisation, based on long residence in a country and other conditions. The legal conditions and administrative procedures for naturalisation should not be so restrictive that acquisition is impossible in practice.
The laws of all African countries provide in principle for the acquisition of citizenship by naturalisation. In some countries an easier process, known as “registration”, “declaration”, or “option” is also available, for example, to those who are married to citizens. However, obtaining citizenship by naturalisation is in practice often extremely difficult and highly discretionary, or even subject to the personal control of the head of state.
While international law permits a state to require a person to renounce another nationality before naturalising, this requirement should not apply to persons who have no other nationality – that is, those who are stateless. Most African countries establish no procedures for naturalisation of stateless persons.
D’après le ministre tunisien de l’Intérieur, Taoufik Charfeddine Par Mourad Belhaj Le ministre tunisien de l’Intérieur, Taoufik Charfeddine a tenu une conférence de presse, ce lundi 3 janvier 2022, au siège du ministère, pour revenir sur la récente décision d’assignation…
Honourable Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi I know that you are a very busy man, so I will get straight to the point. My name is Ndoji Manika, I am 23 years old. In the year 2001, I was only two…
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By Murphy Nganga Cape Town – With little to no right at all, the plight for citizenship by naturalisation in South Africa continues to drive vulnerable youths to the margins of society despite the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the matter…
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By Emmanuelle Mitte, UNHCR Statelessness, once a ‘forgotten human rights crisis’, has been put at the forefront of a global agenda with the UN’s #Ibelong campaign. Among the most tragic victims of statelessness are children found abandoned in a state…
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By Zelda Venter Pretoria – Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) scored major legal victories in two separate cases on behalf of people who have been fighting the various arms of government for years in a bid to simply continue with…
4 decades ago, this issue began by a change in law, split families, and changed a whole generation of people. On the wayside got left behind roughly 4 to 5 dozen individuals. Extremely marginalized. On Thursday, 02 September 2021, a…
by TRACY MUTINDA Members of the Stateless Asians of Kenya Community were awarded Kenyan citizenship certificates on Thursday. Fify-two Asians went home with their certificates as the government vowed to end statelessness. In attendance during the award ceremony were Director…