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Update on Citizenship, Renunciation and Passport Issues
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
November 28, 2002

We welcome, with great relief, General Notice 584 of 2002, as gazetted by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on 22 November 2002. This seeks to clarify and declare the law relating to renunciation and proof of foreign citizenship and has directed the Registrar General (R-G) and his officials to apply the law as set out in the Notice. The following now applies:

1. A citizen of Zimbabwe by birth may not be deprived of or denied his citizenship unless he is or has become a citizen of a foreign country.
   
2. A Zimbabwean citizen actually holding a foreign citizenship will have lost his Zimbabwean citizenship if he did not renounce his foreign citizenship with both the foreign authorities and at the R-G’s office before 6 January 2002. (We maintain that the deadline remains in dispute until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal of Justice Adam’s judgment in Tsvangirai –v- Registrar General & Ors HH 29-02)
   
3. A Zimbabwean citizen who acquires foreign citizenship by marriage, or by some other voluntary act, will lose his Zimbabwean citizenship if he does not renounce foreign citizenship within one year of acquiring such foreign citizenship.
   
4. A minor Zimbabwean citizen who is also a citizen of a foreign country will lose his Zimbabwean citizenship if he does not renounce foreign citizenship within one year of attaining the age of majority (18 years).
   
5. A foreign citizen who acquires Zimbabwean citizenship by registration shall lose his Zimbabwean citizenship if he does not renounce the foreign citizenship within 6 (six) months of obtaining local citizenship.

The Notice continues to say that:

1. Renunciation requirements only apply to a Zimbabwean citizen who is actually and presently a citizen of a foreign country, whether such citizenship was acquired by birth, descent, registration and naturalisation, in terms of the laws of the foreign country.
   
2. Renunciation requirements DO NOT apply to a person who merely has a claim or entitlement to foreign nationality/a potential right to acquire a foreign citizenship, whether by official discretion or as a legal right. This will encompass individuals who cannot become foreign citizens until such time as they actively apply for, and are granted, foreign citizenship.
   
3. A Zimbabwean citizen does not have to produce written proof or confirmation that he is not a citizen of a foreign country in order to establish his Zimbabwean citizenship status.
   
4. If the R-G refutes an individual’s Zimbabwean citizenship, he or his officials must produce documentary proof in the form of a foreign passport or certificate, the written law of the country, records in the possession of the R-G or results of investigations conducted into the individual’s citizenship status.

We are disappointed to note that Cabinet and the Ministry of Justice were compelled to legislate this interpretation of the law and to require the R-G’s office to comply accordingly. Countless cases were instituted and argued in the High Courts of Harare and Bulawayo where the R-G had refused to comply with the law and many different Judges had, in fact, interpreted the legislation in exactly the same manner. Nevertheless, the R-G’s office found it necessary to continue with its misinterpretation, to the detriment of the rights of Zimbabwean citizens, unlawfully revoking their Zimbabwean citizenship and refusing to renew their Zimbabwean passports until a "restoration of Zimbabwean citizenship fee" was paid. This is indeed regrettable. It is not the duty of the legislative body of government to interpret the laws of Zimbabwe. This function is accorded to the Judiciary, and should be duly adhered to in order to maintain the separation of powers necessary in a democratic society.

Individuals who believe that they have been unlawfully denied their right to renewal of a Zimbabwean passport, and those who were forced to pay the restoration fee due to misinterpretation of the above laws are urged to attend at the office of the Registrar General to insist upon their right to a renewal of their Zimbabwean passport, and/or to request a refund of the restoration fee paid, upon production of proof of such payment. In the event that the R-G or his officers refuse to comply, item (d) above should be brought to their attention and the necessary documentary evidence should be requested.

If anyone believes they have been improperly obstructed, they should send details to ZLHR on email: zlhr@icon.co.zw, or by fax to 251468, or post to PO Box CY 1393 Causeway.

Visit the ZLHR fact sheet

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