Somali 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 Somalia
The Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia ( so, Dastuurka Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya) is the supreme law of Somalia. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Federal Republic and source of legal auth ...
, as amended; the Somali Citizenship Law, 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 Somalia and
Somaliland
Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
. 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 nation under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual and the state. Somali nationality is typically obtained under the principle of
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 ...
, i.e. by birth in Somalia or Somaliland, or
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 ...
, born to parents with Somali nationality. 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 grant (
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
).
Acquisition of nationality
Nationality can be acquired in Somali or Somaliland at birth or later in life through grant (naturalization).
By birth
Those who acquire nationality at birth include children born anywhere as long as their father is Somali, meaning a person who by language, origin, or custom is considered to be part of the
Somali nation and they have no other nationality.
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 ...
or minor
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 of unknown parentage, under Article 15 of the Somali Citizenship Law are presumed to have a Somali father unless proven otherwise and Somali of origin, meaning they automatically acquire nationality.
By grant
Naturalization, known as citizenship by grant, can be acquired persons who have resided in the territory for a sufficient period of time to confirm they understand the customs and traditions of the society. General provisions are that applicants have good character and conduct and have resided in the country for a minimum of seven years. There are no provisions for adoptees to acquire nationality in the statutes and when Somalia acceded to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...
in 2015, they did not agree to Article 20 of the convention concerning child adoptions. Children are required to hold the same nationality as their father, unless he is
stateless, in which case, they may acquire the nationality of their mother per Article 14 of the Somali Citizenship Law. However, a child who acquired nationality from its mother may renounce it upon reaching the
age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...
. Besides foreigners meeting the criteria, other persons who may be naturalized include:
* The wife of a Somali national automatically acquires her husband's nationality upon marriage;
* Minor children acquire their father's nationality at the time he is naturalized;
* Children of Somali mothers and stateless fathers, after a residency period of two years; or
* Honorary nationality may be granted for exceptional service to the nation at the discretion of the
President of Somalia
The president of Somalia ( so, Madaxaweynaha Soomaaliya) is the head of state of Somalia. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces. The president represents the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Republic of Somal ...
.
Loss of nationality
Somali nationals can