Nepal citizenship law
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal regulates provisions for
Nepali citizenship in Articles 8, 9 and 10. The Nepal
Citizenship Act 1964 was first promulgated on 28 February 1964 and provides
for a single citizenship for the entire country. The Nepal Citizenship
Act 2006 was enacted on 26 November 2006. It repeals the 1964 Act and makes
further provisions for acquisition and termination of Nepali citizenship and
related matters.
Citizenship by virtue of Nepali descent or
blood
Nepalese citizenship is based on the principles of jus sanguinis or
bloodline. Generally, a person born of parents who are citizens of Nepal will
have a claim to citizenship of Nepal on the basis of descent and every minor
found in Nepal whose parents' whereabouts is not known will have a claim to
citizenship of Nepal on the basis of descent until the whereabouts of the
parents is known.
NB: Prior to the passage of the Nepal Citizenship
Act 2006 on 26 November 2006, Nepal citizenship was transmissible only
through a Nepalese father. Since passage of the new Act, a Nepalese mother can
transmit her citizenship to a child, if the child is born after its passage.
Citizenship by Birth
Prior to 26 November 2006, there was no provision for acquisition of Nepalese
citizenship by birth in Nepal. Under the Nepal Citizenship
Act 2006, a person who was born in Nepal before mid-April 1990, has
permanent domicile and been continuously resident in Nepal throughout his life
can apply to acquire citizenship of Nepal on the basis of birth. Such persons
will have to submit either land ownership certificates or house ownership
certificates or their registration number in voters' lists to obtain
citizenship.
Citizenship by Naturalisation
Any foreign national of full age and capacity may submit an application to
obtain Nepali citizenship if:
- He can speak and write in the national language of Nepali.
- He is engaged in any occupation in Nepal.
- He has relinquished his citizenship of another state.
- He has resided in Nepal for at least 15 years.
- He is a citizen of a country where there is legal provision or a custom to
provide naturalized citizenship to Nepali nationals: and - He is of good conduct and character.
A woman who is married to a Nepali citizen may submit an application to
become a citizen of Nepal. She shall enclose along with such application
evidence of her marriage to a Nepali national, and of having initiated action to
relinquish her foreign citizenship.
Any person who is the son, daughter or descendant of any Nepali national may
apply to obtain the citizenship of Nepal if:
- He can speak and write in the national language of Nepal;
- He has relinquished the citizenship of another state;
- He has been residing in the kingdom of Nepal for the past two years with the
intention of residing in Nepal permanently; and - He is virtuous, of good conduct and character.
Nepal citizenship certificates
In Nepal, a Citizenship certificate (the legal paper denoting citizenship) is
issued only to persons who have attained the age of sixteen. Persons under
sixteen are not formally considered citizens of Nepal, until after reaching
sixteen years of age and applying for and being granted a certificate. A
person who is more than 16 years old and who wants to acquire citizenship
certificate on the basis of birth or descent is required to apply for the same
by including with the application the Nepali citizenship certificate of one's
father, mother or the close relative in his lineage, one's birth certificate,
the certificate attesting one's lineage, the recommendation of the Village
Development Committee or Municipality concerned, the land-ownership certificate
in one's name, father's name or mother's name, or the receipt of the house
tax.
There is a total prohibition on dual nationality in Nepal. To lawfully be
issued a citizenship certificate, a person must have no other allegiances. If a
Nepal citizenship certificate holder, at any time, possesses any other
nationality or citizenship the Nepal citizenship certificate issued to him
becomes invalid or void.
Relinquishment & Restoration of Nepali
citizenship
Relinquishment is covered in Section 10 of the Nepal Citizenship
Act 2006. If any Nepali citizen notifies the prescribed authority, in the
prescribed manner of his decision to relinquish Nepali citizenship, the
prescribed authority may register such notice, and his Nepali citizenship shall
cease to exist with effect from the date of such recording.
Section 11 of the Nepal Citizenship Act provides for any person who has
relinquished the citizenship of Nepal and desires to again become a citizen of
Nepal to reacquire Nepali citizenship. The person must submit an application,
along with evidence of his having been a citizen of Nepal previously, and also
of having relinquished any foreign citizenships he has held.
Automatic Termination of Nepali citizenship
Dual nationality is not permitted under Nepal law. Nepalese authorities have
confirmed, as recently as November 2006, that "there is a total prohibition on
dual nationality in Nepal". Termination is covered in Section 10 of the Nepal Citizenship
Act 2006.
Section 10(1) of the act provides that the Nepalese citizenship of "any"
Nepalese citizen shall automatically lapse on his acquiring the citizenship of
any foreign country. Any citizen of Nepal who by naturalization, registration or
by any other act acquires a foreign nationality, immediately ceases to be a
citizen of Nepal irrespective of whether they are an adult or minor.
Section 10(4) of the act provides that any Nepalese person who by birth is
deemed a citizen of a foreign country and has a claim to citizenship of Nepal
jus sanguinis (by blood) must choose a citizenship between sixteen and eighteen
years of age. If he fails to do so, his claim to Nepalese citizenship shall
automatically lapse on his eighteenth birthday.
Citizenship clarifications issued by the Nepali
Authorities
Meeting between British Home Office and Nepalese
Ministry of Home Affairs
The Home Office has released the British record of the meeting between
Senior Officials of the Home Office Nationality Directorate and Nepalese
Ministry of Home Affairs, that took place in Kathmandu, Nepal on November
22, 2006. Senior Home Office Nationality Directorate officials had specially
flown from the UK to Nepal to attend this meeting to clarify points of Nepalese
citizenship law.
The Nepalese side was represented by
- Mr Shanker Bairagi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal
- Mr Drona Pokhrel, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal and
- Mr Rudra Sitoula, Under Secretary (Legal Officer), Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Nepal.
The British side was represented by
- Mr Chris Kelly, Nationality Directorate, Home Office
- Ms Linda Gerrard, Consular Section, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
- Ms Shraddha Shrestha, Consular Section, British Embassy, Nepal, and
- Ms Lhakpa Dolkar Sherpa, Consular Section, British Embassy, Nepal.
Certain information has been blacked out of the document, because it contains
the names of members of the public or officials and it is government policy to
keep these confidential.
Click on each page below individually to see the source text
According to the British record of the meeting, the Nepalese Government made
a number of important statements that are relevant to interpretation of Nepalese
law:
- Para 5: "The Nepalese Side said the most important thing to remember was
that Nepalese citizenship law does not allow for dual nationality in any
circumstances." - Para 8: The Nepalese side agreed that a person could choose Nepalese
citizenship on account of Nepalese ancestry, but only provided that "he first
renounced his British nationality". - Para 10: "The Nepalese Side said that Nepal issued citizenship certificates
to its nationals but only when they were 16 years of age or over. A Nepalese
passport could be issued to a minor. It was seen merely as a travel document and
not an indicator of Nepalese citizenship."
Other Clarifications
On 26 October 2005, the British Government placed in the Library of the House of Lords, a clarification issued by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers of Nepal
on the status of British Nationals (Overseas) of
Nepali ethnic origin from Hong Kong.
Under British law, no person could become a British National (Overseas)
automatically by being born in Hong Kong, by descent or by any involuntary means
- a Hong Kong born person was required to make an application on the prescribed
form to the British authorities, and applicants only became a British National
(Overseas) when their application was approved and duly registered under the
authority of the Home Secretary. Acquisition of British National (Overseas)
status was therefore never automatic or involuntary – by making an application
for registration, acquisition of the status had to be a conscious act. To make
it involuntary or automatic would have been contrary to the assurances given to
the Chinese government which led to the words "eligible to" being used in
paragraph (a) of the United Kingdom Memorandum to the Sino-British Joint
Declaration.
Accordingly, the clarification of the Nepalese authorities states that a British
National (Overseas) passport holder of any age is not capable of meeting the
legal requirements to be a citizen of Nepal.
On 14 July 2006, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Nepal
issued a Note Verbale to the British Embassy in Kathmandu, explaining the
certain provisions of Nepalese citizenship law. The Note Verbale was placed in Library of the House of Lords on 6
October 2006.
Persons of Nepalese origin born in Hong Kong before 30
June 1976
Recent clarification of Nepalese Citizenship law has meant a number of
persons born in Hong Kong who failed to renounce their British nationality
before the age of 21 and were previously thought to be citizens of Nepal are in
fact solely British. The British Government has recently accepted that certain
Nepalese passport holders born in Hong Kong before 30 June 1976 are British
Overseas citizens, and can register for full British citizenship (with right of
abode in the UK) if they wish to do so.
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