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.
Extracts relevant to Africa: Top events and news• Liberia becomes the third country since the start of the #IBelong Campaign to reform legislation to grant women and men equal rights in passing on their nationality to their children.• Nigeria adopts […]
Les procureurs des Comores ont requis jeudi une peine de prison à vie contre l’ancien président Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, jugé par contumace pour haute trahison. “Il a trahi la mission qui lui a été confiée par les Comoriens”, a martelé […]
This quarterly newsletter includes highlights on the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness, and news from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kingdom of Eswatini, Kingdom of Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, South Africa and Zambia. DRC: […]
HARARE, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — Friendly investors will be granted Zimbabwean citizenship as part of the government’s efforts to lure investment, a cabinet minister has said. “President Emmerson Mnangagwa is once again going to make history by making Zimbabwe one […]
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. […]
On July 25, 2022, Liberia enacted an amendment (Amendment Law) to the 1973 Aliens and Nationality Law (1973 Law). Among the key changes that the Amendment Law brought about are the replacement of a provision that allows only men to […]
Thuso Khumalo South African Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says his department is tracking foreign nationals, who engaged in fraudulent marriages to get citizenship of South Africa, as well as those using fraudulent passports. Minister Motsoaledi told reporters in Johannesburg […]
Introduction Statelessness is a global phenomenon whereby a person is not recognised as a national of any State under the operation of its laws. The 1954 UN Convention relating to the status of Stateless persons and the 1961 UN Convention […]
The Federal Government has announced the conferment of citizenship by naturalisation and registration to 286 foreign nationals from 49 countries. In an advertorial signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, and made available to Sunday PUNCH […]
BANGUI, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court on Monday ruled that the purchase of citizenship, “e-residency” and land using a cryptocurrency the government launched last month was unconstitutional. The “Sango Coin” went on sale on July 21 […]
Updated version of paper first published in 2015. Includes a focus on Kenya. Download from Refworld: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54e75a244.html
Extracts relevant to Africa: Top events and news • 15 civil society and legal aid organizations established the Eastern Africa Nationality Network. • Three pledges from the 2019 High Level Segment on Statelessness were fully or partially implemented in Georgia, […]