10. Citizenship

What citizenship means

The legal link: Citizenship gives a person rights, such as the right to vote, to hold a passport and to stand for office, in return for allegiance and duties. In international law nationality is the link through which an individual usually benefits from international law.

Each state decides: Each state decides, subject to its treaty obligations, who its nationals are. Because states make their own rules, some people end up with two or more nationalities.

Citizenship by birth

The 1973 Act: A person is a citizen by birth if he was born in Sierra Leone and a parent or grandparent was born in Sierra Leone and is or was a person of negro African descent. The Act treats people born before and after 19 April 1971, the Republic Day, in separate sections.

The 2006 amendment: The Sierra Leone Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2006 (Act No. 11 of 2006) changed the old rule, which looked to the father or paternal grandfather, so that citizenship by birth can pass through the father, the mother or any grandparent.

Born abroad: Section 5 gives citizenship by birth to a person born outside Sierra Leone, on or after 19 April 1971, to a citizen parent. Until 2017 only the father could pass it on in this way. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2017 added the mother.

Naturalisation

Who may apply: The Act lets the Minister grant citizenship by naturalisation to, among others, a foreign spouse of a citizen and long-term residents who meet the conditions in the Act.

Conditions: As amended in 2006, section 9 requires the applicant to be of full age and capacity, to take the oath of allegiance, to make a declaration about residence and employment, and to pay the prescribed fees.

Limits on naturalised citizens: A naturalised citizen cannot be elected to Parliament (section 75 of the Constitution). Under the 2006 version of section 16 the Minister may deprive a naturalised citizen of citizenship where it would not be conducive to the public good for him to remain a citizen.

Dual citizenship

The old rule: The 1973 Act did not allow a Sierra Leonean of full age to keep another citizenship.

The rule now: Since the 2006 amendment, section 10 says a citizen of Sierra Leone may hold the citizenship of another country as well. Some public offices may still carry their own rules, so always check the current Constitution and the rules for the office.