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.
In Benin, the government has voted through a law offering nationality to “people with an African ancestor deported as part of the slave trade”, with applications due to open in December. By: Melissa Chemam with RFI When introducing the bill […]
A historic moment unfolded at the Accra International Conference Centre on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, as 524 members of the African diaspora were officially granted Ghanaian citizenship. This event, the third of its kind under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s […]
Extracts relevant to Africa: • The new Global Alliance to End Statelessness, set to be officially launched on 14 October at the high-level segment on statelessness, has already garnered support and membership of over 80 entities (States, regional organizations, UN, […]
By Gift Habib The African Diaspora Union has urged Nigeria to grant citizenship to African descendants in the diaspora who trace their ancestry back to Nigeria. The President of AFRIDU, Prof. Chidiebere Ogbu, made this appeal at a press conference […]
GENEVA – More than half a million people around the world who were living in the shadows, deprived of their right to nationality, have now acquired citizenship since the inception a decade ago of the #IBelong campaign, according to a […]
This policy brief examines the socioeconomic progress of the Shona community in Kenya since gaining citizenship in 2020-21. Previously stateless, the Shona faced barriers to formal employment, financial services, and social protection. Citizenship has enabled 86% of the community to […]
By Nita Balla NAIROBI – Nosizi Dube beams with pride as she clutches her newly issued Kenyan passport. For many, obtaining a passport might be a mundane task, but for 24-year-old Dube, who was born into the stateless Shona community […]
Author: Zekhethelo Cele LLM Candidate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina’s nationality has sparked a significant debate on identity, belonging, and representation between South Africa and Nigeria. Allegedly born in South Africa to a Nigerian father […]
Article 1er: La présente loi a pour objet de définir les conditions et modalités spécifiques suivant lesquelles les personnes reconnues comme afrodescendants peuvent acquérir la nationalité béninoise par reconnaissance. Article 2 : Est Afro-descendant au sens de la présente loi, […]
À l’approche des élections présidentielles de 2025 en Côte d’Ivoire, le pays est secoué par une révélation alarmante. Selon l’analyste socio-politique, Ahouman Gaël Lakpa plus de 40 000 personnes auraient obtenu la nationalité ivoirienne de manière frauduleuse. Cette découverte soulève […]
By Victoria O’Regan Debates about Sowetan-born, former Miss South Africa contestant Chidimma Adetshina’s nationality have prompted questions about South African citizenship. What does it mean to be South African in terms of the law? Citizenship, in the legal sense, means […]
Ce texte, qui doit encore être promulgué par le président Patrice Talon, donnera la possibilité d’obtenir la citoyenneté béninoise à « toute personne qui, d’après sa généalogie, a un ascendant […] déporté dans le cadre de la traite des Noirs […]