16 May 2022

Dual citizenship in certain restricted circumstances could soon come into being, as the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs is in the process of undertaking a comprehensive review of the Citizenship Act 01:01.

“The review will also make provision for default position that if the other country does not allow dual citizenship, a citizen by birth or decent, who attains the age of majority to remain a citizen of Botswana, unless he specifically renounces his Botswana citizenship,” Ministry’s Head of Citizenship, Mr Andries Moeng revealed in a recent interview.

He said the renunciation is in accordance with Section 15 of the Citizenship Act, which states “any person who  is a citizen of  Botswana and  also a citizen of another country, shall upon the  attainment  of the  age of 21 years, cease to be a citizen of Botswana, unless such person has, immediately before the attainment  of the age of 21 years, renounced the  citizenship of that country.”

Mr Moeng said citizens who have renounced their citizenship do however qualify for the Botswana Blue Card, which bestows on them the right to visit, live and work in Botswana. He said they were however, not entitled to Omang and Botswana passport.

He said the blue card is an exemption certificate, which allows citizens by virtue of the provisions of section 15 or 16 of the Citizenship Act, to retain their right to permanent residence in Botswana. Mr Moeng said the card was valid for 10 years and renewable for further period of ten years.

He revealed that Parliament had also adopted a motion tabled by Maun East legislator, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile requesting the ministry to amend the Citizenship Act, to make the default position to be that one retains their Botswana citizenship, unless they specifically renounce.

When tabling the motion, Mr Kekgonegile argued that allowing for a default position for citizens to retain Botswana citizenship, unless they renounce themselves, gives them the opportunity to enjoy certain benefits and possibly deal with issues such as unemployment.

While dual citizenship gives certain advantages such as easy residency in multiple countries and access to opportunities and government programmes, Mr Kekgonegile cautioned that there were extra legal considerations that can make life more complicated for people who have dual citizenship.

He cautioned that the double or dual citizenship is a complex legal concept that can be easily misunderstood, though in essence, it means that the individual is recognized as a citizen by two sovereign states.

A total of 424 individuals have renounced their Botswana citizenship in the past 10 years. ends