Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

nationality law Nationality law is the law of a sovereign state, and of each of its jurisdictions, that defines the legal manner in which a national identity is acquired and how it may be lost. In international law, the legal means to acquire nationality and for ...

is regulated by the

Constitution of Sierra Leone The Constitution of Sierra Leone is the supreme law governing Sierra Leone and delineates its frame of government. It entered into force on October 1, 1991, following a popular 1991 Sierra Leonean constitutional referendum, referendum and approval ...

, as amended; the Citizenship Act, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Sierra Leone. The legal means to acquire

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. In Britain and thus the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

, though the terms are often used synonymously outside of law, they are governed by different statutes and regulated by different authorities. Sierra Leonean nationality is based on descent from a person who is

Negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

-African, regardless of whether they were born in Sierra Leone,

jus soli ''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contras ...

, or abroad to a Sierra Leonean,

jus sanguinis ( , , ; 'right of blood') is a principle of nationality law by which citizenship is determined or acquired by the nationality or ethnicity of one or both parents. Children at birth may be citizens of a particular state if either or both of t ...

. The Negro clause was inserted based upon the founding of the colony as a refuge for former slaves to prevent economically powerful communities from obtaining political power. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation.

Acquisition of nationality

Nationality can be acquired in Sierra Leone at birth or later in life through naturalisation.

By birth

Prior to 2006, persons born in Sierra Leone could only acquire nationality at birth from their Negro-African father or a paternal grandparent. The only way they could acquire nationality through a mother was in the event that they would otherwise be stateless. In 2006, children born in Sierra Leone, but not children born abroad, could acquire nationality from their mothers if both the child and the mother or maternal grandparent were Black African and had been born in Sierra Leone. Since 2017, children born abroad are also allowed to derive nationality from their Sierra Leonean mothers. Current Sierra Leonean legislation makes no provision for

foundlings Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

s discovered in the territory, or those who would otherwise be stateless to acquire nationality. Those who acquire nationality at birth are children born anywhere to at least one parent or grandparent who was of Negro African descent and was born in Sierra Leone.

By naturalisation

Naturalisation can be granted to persons who have resided in the territory for a sufficient period of time to confirm they understand the customs and traditions of Sierra Leone and are integrated into the society. General provisions are that applicants must have sufficient knowledge of a language indigenous to the country, be of good character, and capable of making contributions to the growth of Sierra Leone. Persons who are not Negro-African applicants must typically have resided in the country for fifteen years; whereas Black-Africans are required to have a continuous residency of eight years. Applicants must be interviewed by administrators from the Criminal Investigation Department, Immigration Headquarters, National Revenue Authority, and a panel composed of the attorney general, head of immigration and ministers of foreign affairs, justice, and trade. Recommendations from these interviews are forwarded to the cabinet and then final approval is made by the

President of Sierra Leone The president of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. As the head of the executive branch of the Sierra Leone government, the presi ...

. There is no appeal process if an application is refused. Besides foreigners meeting the criteria, other persons who may be naturalised include: * Juveniles legally adopted by a Sierra Leonean male, at the time of completion of a legal adoption may apply to naturalise as Sierra Leonean; * Minor children (under age twenty-one) can be included in their parent's naturalisation petition; * Children born abroad to Sierra Leonean mothers who were Negro Africans, but whose fathers were not Negro African, as long as their mother continuously maintained Sierra Leonean nationality; * Persons of Negro-African descent who were born in Sierra Leone, to a parent who did not possess

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

or was classed as an

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

, by virtue of continuously residing in the country for at least eight years; or * The wife of a Sierra Leonean upon marriage to a Sierra Leonean national or a person of Black-African descent who was born in Sierra Leone after 18 April 1971.

Loss of nationality

Sierra Leonean nationals can

renounce {{Short pages monitor