Namibian nationality law regulates who is or may become a citizen of Namibia. The primary source of nationality law in Namibia is Article 4 of the Constitution of Namibia, with additional provisions provided by the Namibian Citizenship Act of 1990.
Contents
Citizenship at birth
A person may be a citizen of Namibia at birth either through operation of Article 4(2) (jus sanguinis, i.e. descent from a Namibian citizen) or a restricted form of jus soli (Article 4(1), birth in Namibia to a citizen parent or to a parent who is ordinarily and legally resident in the country).
Acquisition of citizenship
Article 4(3) mandates a period of at least two years' wait before a non-Namibian may obtain Namibian citizenship through marriage to a Namibian. In 2010, the Cabinet brought forth a bill to amend Sections 3 and 5 of the Citizenship Act to set the required time to ten years.
Article 4(5) provides for naturalisation. A minimum period of five years of residence in Namibia is required for naturalisation.
Multiple citizenship
Section 26 of the 1990 Act states that no Namibian citizen may also be a citizen of a foreign country. However, this section of the act states that it is subject to the provisions of other laws. In a 2011 High Court case, Judge Dave Smuts ruled that a Namibian citizen by birth or descent could not be deprived of citizenship without consent, effectively legalising multiple citizenship for those citizens. Applicants for naturalisation, however, must still renounce all their other citizenships under Section 5(1)(g) of the Citizenship Act.