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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Citizenship issues
Citizenship
of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill, 2003
February 14, 2003
[Published
in the Zimbabwe Government Gazette dated 14th February, 2003]
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Memorandum
This Bill will amend
the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 4:01] so as to provide
for the exemption from renunciation of foreign citizenship requirement
provided in section 9 of the Act. The Bill stipulates the circumstances
in which a person may be exempted. In more detail the individual clauses
provide as follows:
Clause 1
This
clause sets out the Bill’s short title.
Clause 2
Section 9
of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act provides for prohibition of dual citizenship
and also requires a person with dual citizenship to renounce his foreign
citizenship so as to retain Zimbabwean citizenship. This clause seeks
to exempt persons of Southern African Development Community (SADC) parentage
who may be citizens of those countries by descent from compliance with
section 9. Many of these persons may be rendered stateless if they
were to be denied their Zimbabwean citizenship status. The majority of
these people have been permanently resident in Zimbabwe since birth, hence
the need for special treatment. This clause also seeks to exempt from
compliance with section 9, persons born in a SADC country, whose
parents were born in Zimbabwe and migrated to such country for the purposes
of employment. This special treatment also emanates from the recognition
of our political, economic and social affinity with SADC countries and
the need to maintain equality, reciprocity and good neighbourliness in
our foreign relations with the region.
Clause 3
Subsection (4)
of section 20 of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act provides for circumstances
which can be treated by a court as prima facie evidence of foreign
citizenship. However, this provision is affected by subsection (1)
of section 25 of the Civil Evidence Act [Chapter 8:01]
which deals with foreign law. Clause 3 seeks to exclude the application
of subsection (1) of section 25 of the Civil Evidence Act in
proceedings involving the question of citizenship.
Presented
by the Minister of Home Affairs
BILL
To amend the Citizenship
of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 4:01].
ENACTED by the President
and the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
1 Short title
This Act may be cited
as the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Amendment Act, 2003.
2 New section
inserted after section 9 of Cap. 4:01
The Citizenship
of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 4:01] (hereinafter called "the
principal Act") is amended by the insertion after section 9
of the following section—
"9A Exemption
from renunciation requirement
(1) In this section—
"SADC
country" means a country which is a member of the Southern
African Development Community established in terms of the Treaty signed
at Windhoek in the Republic of Namibia on the 17th August, 1992.
(2) A person
shall be exempt from having to renounce his citizenship of a SADC
country in order to retain his citizenship of Zimbabwe, as required
by subsection (3), (4), (5), (6) or (7) of section nine, if—
(a) he
was born in Zimbabwe and—
(i) one of
his parents was born in a SADC country and entered Zimbabwe on or
before the 18th of April, 1980, for the purposes of employment as
a general labourer, farm labourer, mine worker or domestic employee,
and from the date of such entry until the date of birth of the person
referred to in this section such parent has continuously resided
in Zimbabwe; and
(ii) he has
continuously resided in Zimbabwe since the date of his birth except
for any temporary absence in any of the circumstances specified
in subsection (2) of section thirteen; and
(iii) he
has not at any time after the date of his birth acquired any foreign
citizenship or foreign passport, whether voluntarily or otherwise,
or enjoyed the protection of any foreign country;
or
(b) he was
born in a SADC country and—
(i) one of
his parents was born in Zimbabwe and left Zimbabwe on or before
the 18th of April, 1980, for the purposes of employment in a SADC
country as a general labourer, farm labourer, mine worker or domestic
employee, and such parent was resident in that country at the date
of birth of the person referred to in this section; and
(ii) he is
permanently resident in Zimbabwe at the time of making an application
in terms of subsection (3); and
(iii) he
has not at any time after the date of his first entry into Zimbabwe
acquired any other foreign citizenship or other foreign passport,
whether voluntarily or otherwise, or enjoyed the protection of any
foreign country.
(3) A person
referred to in subsection (2) may at any time apply to the Registrar,
in the prescribed form and manner, for confirmation of his status
as a citizen of Zimbabwe and the Registrar shall, if he is satisfied
that the applicant fulfils the conditions described in that subsection,
issue a certificate confirming his status as a citizen of Zimbabwe.".
3 Amendment
of section 20 of Cap. 4:01
Section 20
of the principal Act is amended by the insertion after subsection (4)
of the following subsection—
"(5) Notwithstanding
anything contained in subsection (1) of section 25 of the
Civil Evidence Act [Chapter 8:01], if in any proceedings
referred to in subsection (4) the Registrar-General produces
a document purporting to be a copy of any written law of a foreign
country which shows that any person is, by virtue of that law, a citizen
of that country, it shall be presumed, unless it is shown to the contrary,
that that person is a citizen of that country.".
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