Citizenship and Dual Citizenship

Citizenship section derives its mandate from the following legal instruments: –

v The Constitution of Kenya 2010

v The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011

v The Kenya citizens and Foreign nationals Management Service Act, 2011 and

v The Kenya Citizenship and immigration Regulations,2012

Kenya Citizenship is acquired through the following ways;

a)      Widows and widowers - Section 12 (1) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011:- provides that a foreign national who has been married to a citizen of Kenya who but for the death of the citizen would have been entitled after a period of seven years to be registered as a citizen of Kenya under Section 11, shall be deemed to be lawfully present in Kenya for the unexpired portion of the seven years and shall be eligible for registration as a citizen on application in the prescribed manner upon expiry of the seven year period.

b)      Lawful residence - Section 13 (1) of Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 provides that the applicant must have been a lawful resident in Kenya for a continuous period of at least seven years.

c)      Children and Dependant’s - Section 13 (3) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: – caters for children who were born before the parent acquired Kenyan citizenship. Section 13 (4) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011:- provides that a child or a person with disability who is a dependent of any biological parent or legal guardian who is a citizen of Kenya by registration shall upon an application made on their behalf in a prescribed manner be registered as a citizen of Kenya. Section 14 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: – provides that a child who is not a citizen, but is adopted by a citizen, is entitled to apply for registration as a citizen provided that the adopting parent can prove their Kenyan citizenship.

d)     Citizenship by Marriage - Section 13 (3) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: – caters for children who were born before the parent acquired Kenyan citizenship. Section 13 (4) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011:- provides that a child or a person with disability who is a dependent of any biological parent or legal guardian who is a citizen of Kenya by registration shall upon an application made on their behalf in a prescribed manner be registered as a citizen of Kenya. Section 14 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: – provides that a child who is not a citizen, but is adopted by a citizen, is entitled to apply for registration as a citizen provided that the adopting parent can prove their Kenyan citizenship.

e)      Regaining Citizenship - Section 10 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: – provides that a citizen by birth and who ceased to be a citizen of Kenya because he or she acquired the citizenship of another country may apply in prescribed manner to the cabinet secretary to regain Kenya Citizenship.

f)       Declaration of Dual Citizenship - Section 8 (3) of the Kenya citizenship and immigration Act, 2011: -Provides that every dual Citizen shall disclose his or her other citizenship in the prescribed manner within three months of becoming a dual citizen.

g)     Endorsement - Section 8 (6) of the Kenya citizenship and immigration Act, 2011: -Provides that a dual Citizen who holds a Kenyan passport or other travel document and the passport or the other travel document of another country shall use any of the passports or travel documents in manner prescribed in the regulations.

h)     Renunciation of Citizenship - Section 19 (1) of the Kenya citizenship and immigration Act, 2011: -Provides that: where a Kenyan Citizen voluntarily makes a declaration of renunciation of Kenyan citizenship, in the prescribed manner, the Cabinet Secretary shall cause the declaration to be registered.

i)        Stateless Persons - Section 15 (1) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: -provides that any person who does not have an enforceable claim to citizenship of any recognized state and has been lawfully living in Kenya for a continuous period since 12th December, 1963 is eligible for registration as a citizen of Kenya.

Sub section 2 states: -Applications under this section shall be made within a period of five years from the date of commencement of this Act and may by notice in the gazette be extended by the Cabinet Secretary for an additional period of three years.

j)        Migrants - Section 16 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: -provides that a person who voluntarily migrated into Kenya before the 12th December, 1963 and has continuously living in Kenya shall be deemed to have been lawfully resident and may, on application in a prescribed manner, be eligible to be registered a citizen of Kenya.

k)      Descendants of Stateless Persons and Migrants - Section 17 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011: – provides that a person who has attained the age of eighteen and whose parents are or in the case of the deceased parents were eligible to be registered as a citizen of Kenya. There must be sufficient proof that the parents of that person fall within the class of persons referred to the above and provided that they satisfy conditions listed above.