Chapter One

1. The Nature of Citizenship

1.1. Definition of Citizenship
Studying citizenship should be given an important place in the sense that it defines our
relationship with a particular state we belong to. We should also bear in mind that citizenship
involves rights and responsibilities of citizens due to their full membership to a political
community concerned. Thus, the various rights we are entitled to exercise and the duties
expected to discharge within a state are the focus areas of citizenship.

Citizenship is a relationship between an individual and the state by which the former
owes allegiance and the latter owes protection. This relationship is determined by law and
recognized by international law. The citizen is a citizen only through the state. Hence,
citizenship means a full and responsible membership of the state. In social sciences, it has
been used to denote the status of individuals in the development of the modern state.

Asthere can never be citizenship without citizens, understanding first what a

citizen is a paramount importance. The term citizen is understood as a
person or an individual who is born in (or native to) a given state or
naturalized therein, and who owes allegiance to such a state and is entitled
to reciprocal protection from it. A citizen is an individual who is legally
recognized as a member of a state. In other words, citizens are people that
have full rights to be full members of a particular state. Each citizen has full
and equal rights under a state’s constitution/law. All citizens are endowed
with fundamental rights and privileges on the one hand, and entrusted with
certain duties. That is, it is the citizens who exercise certain rights and
privileges in a given state, which those that are not citizens may not
exercise. At the same time, the state also expects certain duties and
responsibilities from its citizens, which it may not legally claim from those
that are not citizens.

When one comes to the concept of citizenship, it has been and is one of the
most difficult terms to define. There is no agreement on the definition of
citizenship since it has different criteria as designed by different states.
However, it can be explained as follows. The idea of ‘citizenship’ is not
fundamentally different from the idea of ‘citizen’. First of all, the word
‘citizenship’ comes from the Latin word called ‘Civitas’, which means a
member or a citizen of a city. Here, it is explained associating with
residence of a city. Therefore, in this context, citizenship simply implies full
membership of citizens in a particular state: it is the actual legal status of
(citizens being) membership to the state.
Citizenship has two aspects:
I) that every citizen has the right to be consulted in the
conduct of political society and the duty to contribute something to the general consultation.
II)The reverse: the citizen, who has a right to be consulted, is bound by the results of the
consultation.

According to Barbalet, ‘Citizenship is in the nature of a political bond. Upon it depends how fast
the bond is’; and T.H. Marshal says that citizenship is a status attached to full membership of a
community, and those who possess this status are equal with respect to the rights and duties
associated with it. However, since different societies attach different rights and duties to the
status of citizen, there is no universal principle which determines necessary rights and duties of
citizenship in general.

Following the line of Marshal, Bryan S. Turner in his book Equality has conceptualized modern
citizenship in terms of three major dimensions. They are: i) Civil citizenship i.e. equality before
law, personal liberty, the right to own property and freedom of speech, ii) political citizenship i.e.
political rights and access to popular institutions of political control, and iii) social citizenship
which involves a guarantee of basic level of economic and social welfare.

Citizenship can be described as both a set of practices (cultural, symbolic and economic)
and bundle of rights and duties (civil, political and social) that define an individual's
membership in a polity. It is important to recognize both aspects of citizenship-as practice and as
status while also recognizing that without the latter modern individuals cannot hold civil, political
and social rights. In the same vein, many rights often first arise as practices and then
become embodied in law as status. Citizenship is, therefore, neither a purely sociological
concept nor purely a legal concept but a relationshipbetween the two. While, then, citizenship
can be defined as a legal and political status, from a sociological point of view it can be defined
as competent membership in a polity, thus emphasizing the constitutive aspect of citizenship.

This is to say, citizenship is the legal status of an individual member to be a

citizen of the state. In other words, it refers to the official recognition of an
individual’s integration into a given political system, or, citizenship is the
status of a person (whose importance is) to be a full member of a particular
state. And, this legal status usually arises from exercising full rights and
discharging the corresponding duties in a state, which people that are not
citizens are not entitled to exercise and expected to fulfill and due to which
they are not citizens of, or full members to, the state. Therefore, obtaining
the status of citizenship involves the legal and official recognition of the state
to exercise citizenship rights and to fulfill the responsibilities/duties.

Citizenship is a status attached to full membership of a community, and those who possess this
status are equal with respect to the rights and duties associated with it. But those who do not
possess the civil, political and social rights to exercise such citizenship
would be denied to become such a competent and full-fledged member of the polity in the
first place. Thus, the sociological and politico-legal definitions of citizenship are not mutually
exclusive but constitutive. However, objective citizenship does not in itself ensure the
existence of subjective citizenship, because members of groups that feel alienated from their
state, perhaps because of social disadvantage or racial discrimination, or any other factor,
cannot properly be thought of as ‘full citizens’, even though they may enjoy a range of formal
entitlement. But before explaining this potential discrepancy, it is important to continue with a
general conceptual revision of citizenship.

In brief, the crux of citizenship is participation in the political community. However,

any theory of political and social participation and rights must acknowledge that the role of
the state in the development of citizenship is crucial because the conditions of citizenry are
determined within each state depending upon the legal provisions. Different types of political
communities give rise to different forms of citizenship. Citizenship is also defined as the
rights and duties of citizens residing within a state. That is, it is about the
benefits they require from their membership in the state and the obligations
that individuals have to fulfill in the state. When citizens exercise or enjoy
with their rights and discharge their obligations in a state to which they
belong, what is expected usually in democratic political system is a sort of
strong and peaceful relationship between the people and their government.

In connection with this, citizenship can further be understood as a political

and legal relationship existing between individuals and their state. This in
fact indicates the symbol of good citizens whereby they take part in political
activities and obey or behave in accordance with the law of their state. The
political and legal relations individuals have with their government can be
changed depending on certain circumstances: the relations citizens have
with their government are something that can be changed to other
government. Thus, citizenship right can also be changed accordingly.
Citizenship is not static or rigid in nature; rather it is characterized by its
flexibility.
Finally, Osler and Starkey conceptualized citizenship as a status, a feeling and a practice. Let us
see each of them.

Citizenship as status

Citizenship is perhaps most often understood as status. The world is organized on the
basis of nation states and almost all of the world’s inhabitants are legally citizens of a state,
whether it be demographically huge, like China and India, or tiny, like Vanuatu or Belize.
Whatever the political regime, nationals of a state are citizens with an internationally accepted
legal status that gives them some rights and usually also some duties. The rights available to
citizens of autocratic states or dictatorships, including their political rights, are likely to be
very restricted. In such states, duties, such as military service, may be onerous. In liberal
democracies, statutory service to the state may be no more than the requirement to sit on a jury if
chosen. Citizenship, in this sense, is simply the status of being a citizen. It describes the
relationship of the individual to the state. The state protects citizens through laws and
policing. It provides some collective benefits such as security, a system of justice, education,
health care and transport infrastructure. In return, citizens contribute to the costs of collective
benefits through taxation and possibly military service.

In many cases, the status of ‘citizen’ has been achieved as a result of struggle against
oppressive political control. For example, in France, the subjects of an absolute monarch
achieved the status of citizen through insurrection in the 1789 Revolution. The twentieth
century saw numerous successful campaigns across the world for freedom from colonial rule.
In these contexts the word ‘citizenship’ has very positive connotations associated with freedom,
equality and solidarity. Citizens are defined by their capacity to think of themselves not as passive
subjects of an all-powerful ruler or government, but rather as individuals who can challenge their
rulers and ultimately make a difference.

The state protects citizens through laws and policing. It provides some collective benefits such
as security, a system of justice, education, health care and transport infrastructure. In return,
citizens contribute to the costs of collective benefits through taxation and possibly military
service.

Citizenship as feeling

Citizenship is a feeling of belonging to a community of citizens. However, even when individuals

have the status of citizen, they may identify to a lesser or greater extent with a particular state.
Although governments, communities and the media may promote feelings of national identity
through national holidays, sporting events, jubilees, parades and public service broadcasting,
individuals are likely to vary in the degree to which they feel they are part of the nation.
Although democratic states aspire to treat all citizens alike on the basis of equality, individuals
and groups may have difficulties in accessing services.

Citizenship as practice

Citizenship is also defined in terms of practice, associated with democracy and with
human rights. Citizenship refers to anawareness ofoneself as an individual living in
relationship with others, participating freely in society and combining with others for political,
social, cultural or economic purposes. Active citizenship is facilitated by awareness of and
access to human rights. It is not dependent on belonging to a particular nation state, though it
may certainly be facilitated or restricted by membership of a state. Individuals can practice
citizenship as holders of human rights, working individually, perhaps, but usually with othersto
change the way things are. It is this awareness of a capacity to influence the world,
sometimes referred to as a sense of agency, which leads citizens to exert themselves on behalf of
others.

Seen in this perspective, citizenship is not confined simply to a formal status in relation
to a nation state. Nor is it confined to those able to exercise the right to vote. The scope of
citizenship has expanded as new groups have demanded to be included among those who
make decisions concerning their lives. The formal status of entitlement to political or voting
rights has often proved insufficient to be felt as citizenship or to enable the practice of
citizenship. Voting rights for women need to be followed by campaigns for real equality.
Minorities maygain formal and legal equality of rights but this is rarelysufficient to
guarantee equity in practice. To achieve real equality usually requires further campaigns.

Apart from foreigners, there are also some individuals within a state that are
called subjects but not citizens. This implies that, although the idea of
citizenship indicates membership or belonging to a given state, citizenship in
all states is not the same. The idea here is that, depending on the nature of
states and their respective governments, members of various states may be
with different rights and privileges and hence with different citizenship
status. For example, in states that are democratic and constitutional in
nature, all citizens should have equal rights, privileges and duties before the
law. That is, here, there are no some citizens that may have superior rights
over the others. To the contrary, in states that are not democratic or non-
constitutional, all individuals of a state do not have equal legal rights and
privileges. There may be some individuals that may have superior rights and
privileges over others. There are some individuals that are absolutely
obedient to those in power, not to the law; the rulers have more sovereign
rights over such individuals.
These individuals are subjects. Thus, subjects are individuals belonging to a
state that have inferior and subordinate status relatively from some other
individuals. They are not exercising equal rights and privileges as well as
discharging identical duties with others. Subjects are those who fulfill much
duties but exercising little or no rights. They are simply those individuals
absolutely obedient, or subjected, to the authority rulers of the state.
Subjects have little or no choice to determine who should rule them and
what policies should be made for them.

Foundation of Citizenship: Philosophical Discourses

1.2.1 The Foundation of Rights: Political Citizenship
The political domain/dimension of citizenship: involves the right to vote and to political
participations. Free elections are key to this dimension of citizenship, as it is the right to freely
seek political office. In other words, political citizenship refers to political rights and duties of
citizens with respect to the political system.

1.2.2 The Foundation of Social Change: Social/Economic Citizenship

The Socio-economic domain/dimension of Citizenship:refers to the relationship between
individuals in a societal context and to the rights of participating in the economic activities. The
definition of social and economic rights includes the rights to economic well-being, for example,
the right to social security, to work, to minimum means of subsistence and to a safe environment.
Social citizenship:refers to the relations between individuals in a society and demands
loyalty and solidarity. In other words, citizenship is a social phenomenon. It is a fact that
citizenship can be attained through parent’s nationality but the ascription of a parent and a child
is a social process, not a mere biologically given episode. Furthermore, adoption and marriage
can be mentioned as they are social aspects of citizenship. In the case of adoption, the full rights
and responsibilities of parenthood are transformed from natural to social parenthood and the
child’s social and kinship position is also transformed from the biological childhood to social
hood.
Economic citizenship: refers to the relation of an individual towards the labor and
consumer market and implies the right to work and to a minimum subsistence level.
The Cultural/Collective dimension of Citizenship: refers to the manner in
which societies take into account the increasing cultural diversity in societies, diversity due to a
greater openness to other cultures, to global migration and to increased mobility. This dimension
of citizenship refers to awareness of a common cultural heritage. This component includes the
quest for recognition of collective rights for minorities. The culture- state relationship is based
upon human rights which recognize an anthropological dimension of a person, and which imply
a certain conception of human beings, their dignity, and the affirmation of legal equality against
all forms of discrimination on the basis of membership in a particular group.
The interminable/endless debate on citizenship makes reference to all or any of these domains, to
deal with issues of national identity, human rights, and ways of belonging, and citizens’
responsibilities to each other and to the state.
1.3. Citizenship: As an Identity and Difference
Moreover, citizenship is an instrument of identification. This means, it is a
way or mode by which citizens of a state can be distinguished from citizens
of other states. This is done when states enact/make laws related to
citizenship within their respective municipal/national laws.

All individuals residing within a state may not be its citizens: some are
obviously foreigners or aliens and still there may be some others that are
named as subjects. Foreigners are individuals that are temporarily members
of host states but are from abroad. Wherever they go they are expected to
exercise some rights, human rights because they are human beings, but not
democratic rights.

The development of the concept citizenship (nationality) presupposes the emergence of nation-
states and a system of international relations. In the absence of other states and a system of
international relations citizenship will not have any meaning and its application become
unthinkable.
States exist interconnected more and more within a system of international relations. The
determination whether an individual belongs to one state or another happened with the
introduction of compulsory military service and the universalization of national political rights,
like voting. The determination that an individual is a national of a state to the exclusion of other
states necessarily involves the relationship between states. Therefore, nation-states and
international relations are important prerequisites for the feasibility of citizenship rules.
International law has not yet developed concrete rules to govern matters of citizenship.
International law simply recognizes that each state has the right to determine under its own laws
who its nationals are.
[Link] and Duties
Duties are certain activities which canbe carried out by citizens owing to
both moral and legal principles. Thus, they are the moral as well as legal
obligations of citizens that are to be performed as their responsibilities. You
undertake certain activities in your society because the moral values and
legal rules of the state expect you to do so. There are certain multifaceted
activities to be done by citizens as their responsibilities in the state to which
they belong. Fulfilling these responsibilities means discharging one’s
citizenship responsibilities as responsible citizens. Typical of them are as
follows: reading news papers, magazines, and books in relation to civil
matters and listening to political views on television and radio;
 Being well informed on local, regional and national issues.
 Making active participation in political arena.
 Fostering the culture of tolerance.
 Developing basic social institutions such as family, economic and
political institutions.
 Participating in national defense is another citizenship responsibility.
 Respecting laws and rules of the state without any pressure.
 Preserving the national and historical heritages.
CHAPTER TWO
Ways of Acquiring and Loosing Citizenship: Ethiopian Focus
Modes/Ways of Acquiring and Loosing Citizenship
♣ Ways of Acquiring Citizenship
Before taking up with ways of acquiring citizenship, for purpose of clarity, it
seems important to raise some issues on the nature of qualifications for
citizenship at international system. Qualifications are legal requirements to
acquire and lose citizenship. They usually exist in different states in terms of
rules, laws or principles. However, there is no uniformity of qualifications for
citizenship in the world. They vary from state to state: different states may
have various principles, or rules serving as ways of acquiring and losing
citizenship rights. Consequently, there may be a number of ways of acquiring
and losing citizenship across the world. Although there are different ways of
acquiring citizenship within domestic laws of various states, the most
common ones are two: namely, citizenship by birth and naturalization. That
is, they are the commonly used ways by which citizenship can be acquired in
most [Link] have various laws that govern the granting of citizenship. People may become
citizens in two ways. These include: by birth, and by law (naturalization).

A. By Birth: - Mostpeople become citizens of a country simply by being born there. The right to
citizenship in the country of one’s birth is called jus soli a Latin phrase that means right of soil.
The laws of most nations, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, grant
citizenship based on jus Soli. Some nations limit jus soli to children whose parents already have
citizenship in that nation. Some nations also deny jus soli to certain groups of persons. Such
persons include children who are born in a country where their parents are serving as diplomatic
representatives. Persons denied jus soli also include babies born to refugees.
Some countries use another rule of citizenship instead of jus soli or in addition to it. This rule
provides that the citizenship of children is determined by the nationality of their parents, no
matter where the children are born. The right to citizenship in the country of one’s parents is
called jus Sanguinis. The phrase is a Latin term that means right of blood. Ethiopia, Canada,
France, the United States, and a number of other nations grant jus Sanguinis to children born
abroad if one or both parents are citizens. For instance, in the context of Ethiopia, it is clearly
stated in proclamation No378/2003 (Article 3) that any person shall be an Ethiopian
national by descent where both or either of his parents is Ethiopian.
B. By Law (Naturalization): - is the legal process by which foreigners become citizens of a
country. Naturalization is the process through which the state gives its citizenship status to a
person who is originally not its nationals. Each nation sets requirements that alien most meets to
become naturalized. In most case, the requirement may include age, income, language and
duration in which the person lives in the country before the submission of the application. For
example, aliens cannot undergo naturalization in Canada or the United States unless they have
lived in their new country for a number of years. On the other hand, Israel allows Jewish
immigrants to become Israeli citizens the day they arrive under a rule called the Law of Return.
Many nations naturalize only people who understand the rights and duties of citizenshipand can
use the national language.
Citizenship in the Ethiopian Context
Ethiopia as a state has her own rules concerning citizenship. Thissection
emphasize on the issue of citizenship in the Ethiopian context. In this section
we will examine the citizenship law of the country particularly with reference
to the 1995 constitution.
Citizenship: Ethiopian Experience
Before 1930, the issues of citizenship were largely regulated by custom and
traditions. Even if there was no formal law, individuals strongly identified
themselves with the state. The state for the first time comes to have
citizenship law in 1930 thatwas issued on July 22, and amended on October
5, 1932. Nevertheless, the status ofcitizenship was more of subjects than
citizens. Acquiring of citizenship was conferred to various nations,
nationalities and peoples due to their integration into the Ethiopian state.
Moreover, the 1995 Ethiopian constitution (F.D.R.E constitution) lay down
some important principles withregard to citizenship in Ethiopia. It could be
said that both are generally similar to each other. However, few departures
or changes are made in the 1995 constitution. The major similarities and
differences between the two rules are the following.
Citizenship Law of the 1930
The Ethiopian law of citizenship that is still in effect was issued on July 22,
1930, and amended on October 5; [Link] law is based on the general
principle of jus sanguinis. Unlike jus soli, which towards the status of
nationality by birthplace irrespective of the nationality of one's parents, the
principle of jus sanguinis gives a child the nationality of his parents,
irrespective of his or her birthplace. On the basis of the principle of jus
sanguinis, Ethiopian law provides that any person born in Ethiopia or abroad,
whose father or mother is Ethiopian, is an Ethiopian.
The first qualification provides that every childborn in a lawful mixed
marriage follows the nationality of the father. The second qualification
stipulates that the child legitimated through subsequent marriage follows the
nationality of his/her foreign father only on condition that the nationality law
of the father confers upon him the foreign nationality with all inherent rights.
Otherwise, the child preserves his/her Ethiopian nationality.
Ethiopian citizens Loss of Ethiopian citizenship:
a) An Ethiopian woman contracts a lawful marriage with a foreigner and
acquires her husband's nationality.
b) A child born in a lawful marriage between anEthiopian female and a
foreigner follows the nationality of the father, and
c) An Ethiopian subject changes his nationality and acquires foreign
nationality.
Yet, an Ethiopian woman who married a foreigner, if the law of the country of
which her husband is a national does not entitle her to the nationality of her
husband may retain Ethiopian nationality. A child born outside marriage
where his parents subsequently marry if the national law of the child's father
does not confer upon him his father's nationality with all its inherent rights
may also retain Ethiopian nationality.
Acknowledgement of paternity of a child born from an Ethiopian mother by a
father who is a foreigner deprives the child of his Ethiopia nationality only if
the child can acquire his father's nationality with all its inherentrights.
Adoption is the other way of acquiring citizenship. Adoption of an Ethiopian
child by a foreign national made in accordance to the national law of the
adopting person does not cause a change of the adopted child's original
nationality. On the other hand, a woman who had lost her Ethiopian
nationality by marriage to a foreigner may recover it after the dissolution of
the marriage by reason of divorce, separation or death of her husband, if she
returns to reside in Ethiopia, although for a limited time, she may be
stateless under such circumstances. Any person who had lost his Ethiopian
nationality may recover it when he/she returns to reside in Ethiopia.
The law further explains that a foreigner may acquire Ethiopian nationality if
he:
a) Has attained the age of majority according to the law of his/her country;
b) Has lived at least for five years in Ethiopia;
c) Can earn his/her living (for himself and his family);
d) Can read and write the Amharic language; and
e) Produces evidence to the effect that he/she has not been previously
convicted of a crime.
In spite of defiance with the five-year residence requirement, the Ethiopian
Government may, pursuant to the October 5, 1932, amendment, accord
Ethiopian nationality to a foreign applicant, if he is deemed to be useful to
the country or if there are some special reasons for granting it to him.
Consequently, the Ethiopianlaw of nationality by prescribing the exclusive
determining factors under which Ethiopian nationality can be acquired and
lost has minimized the instances in which problems of statelessness and dual
(multi) nationality may occur.
Citizenship under the 1995 Constitution
Constitution is the fundamental law of a [Link] a fundamental law, article
6 of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia declares
that any person of either sex shall be an Ethiopian national where both or
either parent is Ethiopian. Hence, the constitution enshrines the principle of
jus [Link] details of nationality laws of Ethiopia are legislatedin the
Ethiopian Nationality Proclamation No. 378/2003 in this proclamation (article
3)the principle of nationality by descent is provided- ‘Any person shall be an
Ethiopian national by descent where both or either of his parent is Ethiopian.
In addition, any infant who is found abandoned in Ethiopia shall be
considered to have been born to an Ethiopian parent and shall acquire
Ethiopiannationality. But if is proved the infant has a foreign nationality like
by provingthat his parents are foreignerhe/she shall not acquired Ethiopian
nationality automatically. In this proclamation a person may acquire
nationality by law that is naturalization. A person can become a naturalized
citizen of Ethiopia through many- ways the application must be made to the
National Affairs Committee that shall provide its recommendation to the
Security, immigration and Refugee Affairs Authority which shall have the
power to give decision to accord nationality.
Ways of Acquiring Citizenship under Ethiopia: Nationality Proclamation No. 378/2003:
1. By Birth: According to the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation of 2003, article 3(1), any
person shall be an Ethiopian national by descent where both or either of his/her parents is
Ethiopian.
2. By Law (Naturalization): Any foreigner may acquire Ethiopian nationality by law in
accordance with the provisions of Articles 5-12 of the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation of
2003.
Marriage: A foreigner who is married to an Ethiopian national may acquire Ethiopian
nationality. Accordingly, the Ethiopia, proclamation number 378/2003 article 6 clearly states that
a foreigner who is married to an Ethiopian national may acquire Ethiopian nationality by law
when he/she fulfills the following requirements:
(1) The marriage is concluded in accordance with the laws of Ethiopia or the other
country where the marriage is contracted;
(2) There is a lapse of at least two years since the conclusion of the marriage;
(3) He/she has lived in Ethiopian for at least one year preceding the submission of the
application; and
(4) He/she has fulfilled the conditions stated under article 5 (1, 7, 8) of the proclamation.
Legitimating (Cases of Adoption): This is citizenship by recognition. An illegitimate child has
the right to get his biological or caretaker father/mother citizenship after legitimating. Such
process is usually attributed to a father /mother of multiple citizenship and child adopted by
Ethiopian national may acquire Ethiopian nationality by law. For example article 7 of the
Ethiopian nationality proclamation (No 378/2003) any child adopted by Ethiopian national,
may obtain Ethiopian nationality by law when the following conditions are fulfilled:
(1) He/she has not attained the age of majority,
(2) He/she lives in Ethiopia together with his adopting parent;
(3) Where one of his adopting parents is a foreigner and such a parent should express his/her
consent in written statement; and
(4) The condition stated under article 5(7) of the proclamation has been fulfilled.
Grant on Application: - Depending on their rules, different countries adopt requirements to
grant citizenship by application. According to the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation of 2003
article 5, the following are the requirements:
(1) One is legal age that is 18 ;
(2) One who lived in Ethiopia for a total of at least four years;
(3) Self-reliant- she/he must have sufficient and lawful source of income to maintain
himself/herself and his/her families;
(4) One who is able to communicate in any of the languages of the nations and nationalities of
the country;
(5) One who have a good character;
(6) One who have no recorded criminal conviction;
(7) One who be able to show that he/she has been released from his/her previous nationality or
the possibility of obtaining such a release upon the acquisition of Ethiopian nationality or
that he/she is a stateless person; and
(8) He/she shall be required to take the oath of allegiance under Article 12 of this proclamation
which says that “I-----, solemnly affirm that I will be a loyal national of the federal
democratic republic of Ethiopia and be faithful to its constitution”.
 However, the government of Ethiopia also grants citizenship rights to those foreign
individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the interest of Ethiopia
irrespective of the above stated conditions.
Reintegration (Restoration): A person who has lost his/her citizenship due to some reasons may
get it back if he/she fulfills some conditions as laid down by the laws of the state. According to
the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation article 22, a person who was an Ethiopian national and
who has acquired foreign nationality by law shall be readmitted to Ethiopian nationality if
he/she:
(a) Returns to domicile in Ethiopia;
(b) Renounces his foreign nationality; and
(c) Applies to the security, Immigration and Refugee Affairs Authority.
Citizenship by special case: Citizenship can be given to an individual or collectives without
undergoing all the legal procedures related to acquisition of citizenship. As to the Ethiopian
Nationality proclamation article 8, a foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution in the
interest of Ethiopia may be conferred with Ethiopian Nationality by law irrespective of the
conditions stated under sub-articles (2) and (3) of Article 5 of the proclamation. That is, he/she is
not required to live in Ethiopia for a total of four years and may lack the ability to communicate
in any of the languages of the country.
Citizenship by Political Case: The political case refers to acquisition of citizenship by conquest
or cession of territory. Cession is voluntary process where as conquest is coercive act.
Citizenship by political case is possible in two ways. These are:
A. When the people of subjugated state are incorporated within the territory of the victorious
state, they acquire citizenship of the new state.
B. Due to the merger of one state or region of a state with another state, citizens of the merged
territory become citizens of the new state in which they are merged. Example, when the United
States bought the Louisiana territory from France in 1803, the treaty provided that all the people
in the area should become American [Link] large number of people acquires citizenship
at the same time, such practice is termed as collective citizenship.
Option: This is a modern development due to the direct participation of the inhabitants in their
status of citizenship. In voluntary partition, cession or exchange of territories option is given to
the inhabitants to choose only the citizenship of one state. Example, when the territory of India
was divided into Pakistan and India.
Defacto Citizenship (Citizenship by Claim): A woman or man can marry another national
without undergoing the required legal procedure of marriage. Under such condition the married
woman or man can possibly claim citizenship of her husband’s (his wife’s) country. Such kind of
citizenship by claim /assumption is termed as apparent Nationality.
Dual Citizenship
Some people hold citizenship in two nations. The condition of being a citizen of two nations is
called dual citizenship or dual nationality. Some people gain dual citizenship by birth. For
example, a baby born to a French family visiting the United States would have U.S. citizenship
by jus soli. The baby also would have French citizenship by jus Sanguinis. People whose parents
are citizens of two countries might have dual nationality by jus Sanguinis.
Some people have dual citizenship as a result of naturalization. For example; a nation might
allow its naturalized citizens to keep their original citizenship. Such persons could claim
citizenship in two countries. Or, a nation might refuse to allow its people to give up their
citizenship. People who declared that they no longer were citizens of such a country and became
naturalized in another still would be claimed as citizens by the original nation.
Ways of Loosing Citizenship
Various states adopt different principles on those citizens who violate the nation’s citizenship.
The following points discuss the various modes/ways of loosing citizenship.
A. Renunciation (Expatriation)
The United Nations universal Declaration on Human Rights of 1948, Article 15(2) provides the
right to the individual to renounce/ give up/ reject his/her citizenship and seek the citizenship of
some other state according to his/her choice.
Most countries recognize the right of any citizen to expatriate (emigrant) himself/herself or give
up his/her allegiance/ loyalty to one country for allegiance of another country. A person gives up
his citizenship in one country when he is naturalized in another, if the country he/she leaves
recognizes his/her right of expatriation. In such condition the person ceases to be a citizen of the
former state. Ethiopia also recognizes the right of its citizens to expatriate and renounce their
Ethiopian citizenship status. For example, as it is clearly explained in article 19 of the
proclamation No of 378/2003 of the Ethiopian nationality law one can loss his/ her
Ethiopian nationality via renunciation if; he/she has acquired or has been guaranteed the
acquisition of the nationality of another state. However, one who intends to do so shall in
advance inform the concerned authority. Moreover, he/she who has declared his/her intention to
renounce his/her nationality may not be released until he/she has discharged his/her
outstanding national obligations or where he/she has been accused of convicting a crime.
However, the renunciation of the nationality of a minor child shall be effected by the joint
decision of his parents or, where one of his parents is a foreigner, by the decision of the
Ethiopian parent. Thus, given, dual nationality is impossible in the Ethiopian context. Article 20
of the above stated proclamation supports this stating:
(1) Without prejudice to the provision of article 19 (4) of this proclamation, any Ethiopian who
voluntary acquires another nationality shall be deemed to have voluntarily renounced his
Ethiopian nationality;
(2) An Ethiopian who acquires another nationality by virtue of being born to a parent having a
foreign nationality or by being born abroad shall be deemed to have voluntarily renounced his
other nationality unless he has declared to the authority his option to retain it by renouncing his
other nationality within one year after attaining the age of majority or unless there has been an
earlier expressed renunciation of his Ethiopian nationality pursuant to Article 19(3) of
this proclamation;
(3) An Ethiopian who acquires, in the absence of his own initiative, another nationality by the
operation of the law in connection with any ground other than those specified under sub-article
(2) of this article shall be deemed to have voluntarily renounced his Ethiopian nationality if he
starts exercising the rights conferred to such acquired nationality or fails to declare his option
to the authority to retain his Ethiopian nationality by renouncing his other nationality with in a
period of one year; and
(4) A person who retains another nationality in addition to Ethiopian nationality shall
be considered an Ethiopian national until the loss of his Ethiopian nationality pursuant to
sub-article (2) or (3) of this Article.
The personal decision of a person to renounce or give up his/her citizenship emanates when the
state harasses the person and when the person dislikes the policies or politics or ideologies
pursued by the state or for other reasons like better economic standing.
B. Deprivation
A citizen of a state may be deprived of his/her citizenship, if he/she is guilty of committing
certain serious crimes against the state. Such as:
(a)To make access national secrets to alien country,
(b) Serving in another country’s armed forces or government,
(c) Trying to overthrow the government by force,
(d) Promising loyalty to another country,
(e) Becoming naturalized in another country, etc. But according to the Ethiopian Nationality
proclamation of 2003, article 17; no Ethiopian may be deprived of his nationality by the decision
of any government authority unless he/she loses his/her Ethiopian nationality under article 19 or
20 of the proclamation.
C. Substitution
Citizenship may be lost when the original citizenship is substituted by another state, where it is
acquired through naturalization. According to the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation article 20,
Ethiopian nationality can be lost upon acquisition of other nationality. On the other side, this may
also take place when a particular territory is annexed by another state; the inhabitants’ citizenship
within the annexed territory will be replaced by the citizenship of the subjugator.

D. Lapse
Citizenship may be lost, if the person stays outside of his/her country for a long and continuous
period. For example, if an Indian citizen stays out continuously for more than seven years, the
person will lose his/her Indian citizenship by the principle of lapse. The principle of lapse has no
application according to the Ethiopian Nationality proclamation of 2003.
Statelessness is the legal and social concept of a person lacking belonging (or a legally
enforceable claim) to any recognized state. Statelessness is not always the same as lack of
citizenship. Statelessness can be classified as De jure statelessness & De facto statelessness.
Statelessness most commonly affects refugees although not all refugees are stateless, and not all
stateless persons may be able to qualify as refugees. Refugee status entails the extra requirements
that the refugee is outside their country of nationality (or country of habitual residence if
stateless), and is deserving of asylum based upon a well-founded fear of persecution for
categorized reasons which make him/her unwilling or unable to avail the protection of that
country.
A stateless person is someone with no citizenship or nationality. It may be because the state that gave
their previous nationality has ceased to exist and there is no successor state or their nationality has been
repudiated by their own state, effectively making them refugees. Some people become stateless as a
result of government action. For example, a government might punish citizens by expatriating
them, leaving them stateless. In 1935, the German government led by the Nazi dictator Adolf
Hitler expatriated all Jews living in Germany. Many other people become stateless when their
homelands are destroyed by war.
People may be stateless also if they are members of a group which is denied citizen status in the
country on whose territory they are born, if they are born in disputed territories, if they are born
in an area ruled by an entity whose independence is not internationally recognized, orif they are
born on territory over which no modern state claims sovereignty.
Individuals may also become stateless voluntarily by formally renouncing their citizenship while
on foreign soil. However, not all states recognize such renunciations on the part of their citizens.
Often, depending on the specific laws of the countries involved, one may not renounce a
citizenship unless one is a dual citizen and can show citizenship in a country other than that of
the undesired citizenship.
Children of aliens born stateless if the country of their birth does not grant jus soli and the
parents’ homeland does not grant jus sanguinis.
Stateless persons have no government from which to ask protection. So, there is an international
concern over the case of stateless persons. To settle such conditions, the United Nations has
adopted a convention on the protection and reduction of stateless persons. States are expected to
observe the convention in resolving the plight of stateless persons.