STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY programmes (see box pp. 66–67). Between July 2014 and June 2018, Uganda had registered 1,460 people as citizens, and naturalised 452; in addition, 719 had recovered Ugandan citizenship under the provisions enabling dual citizenship.132 Refugees are not eligible to register as Ugandan citizens under the law (see above, heading on naturalisation of refugees); and according to interviews in 2016, no registered refugee in Uganda was known to have been naturalised. The Kenyan Department of Immigration indicated that around 100-150 people a year acquire citizenship by registration each year, and between four and five hundred are recovering citizenship under the provisions of the 2010 constitution permitting dual citizenship.133 Refugees cannot access these procedures in practice. The official fees for naturalisation are often out of reach for many people at risk of statelessness. In Uganda, it costs USh 100,000 (approximately US$ 30) to register as a citizen for a spouse, but US$ 1,000 for registration in other circumstances; except that there is a reduced fee of USh 100,000 for “people who have lived all their lives in Uganda and consider themselves as Ugandans except for the citizenship papers.��� No fees are posted on the Immigration Department website for naturalisation, implying that this procedure is little used.134 In Kenya, acquisition of citizenship by a spouse costs KSh 30,000 (US$ 300), or KSh 5,000 (US$ 50) for a person from another East African state, but KSh 200,000 (US$ 1,940) on the basis of long-term residence. The fee for registration under the special temporary procedures for “migrants” and “stateless persons” was, however, reduced to KSh 2,000 (US$ 20).135 In Rwanda, acquisition on the basis of marriage, birth or residence in Rwanda until majority costs RwF 20,000 (US$ 25), while naturalisation on the basis of long term residence is RwF 100,000 (US$ 125).136 The Tanzanian naturalisation procedure is especially elaborate, involving multiple stages of approval and amongst the highest fees in the world. After filling in the relevant forms, the applicant submits the application at his or her nearest local government area (the Ward Executive Secretary, or sheha in Zanzibar). The forms are sent, with an initial recommendation letter, to the District Immigration Office. At that time, the application process is formally registered, the applicant pays a non-refundable fee of US$ 1,500, and must also pay for the publication of a notice of intention to apply for naturalisation in two consecutive issues of daily newspapers registered in Tanzania mainland and in Zanzibar. The applicant is interviewed by the District Defence and Security Committee, and the file is then sent, with a recommendation, to the Regional Immigration Officer. The application is then scrutinised at the regional level, with or without an interview, and forwarded with a recommendation from the regional defence and security committee to the Commissioner General of Immigration Services.137 The applicant may be interviewed again at national level, and the Commissioner General makes a recommendation to the Minister of Home Affairs. For an applicant from Zanzibar, an additional layer of scrutiny comes through the Office of the Second Vice President (representing the islands). The Minister makes the final decision, and may disregard or overrule 132 Interview, Department of Immigration, 10 August 2016; Uganda government focal point on statelessness, “Clarification on Ugandan position on the draft report on statelessness and citizenship in the East African Community”, 21 September 2018. 133 Interview, Department of Immigration, 20 March 2017. 134 Fees for Services Offered by the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control Effective 1st July 2015, available at website of Directorate of Immigration Control, Uganda: http://www.immigration.go.ug/about/fees-services-offered-directorate-citizenshipand-immigration-control-effective-1st-july-2015. 135 An application for permanent residence is even more expensive, attracting a non-refundable “processing fee” of KSh 10,000 (US$ 97), and an “issuance fee” payable on approval of KSh 500,000 (US$ 4,850). Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012 (LN 64/2012 as amended by LN 145/2014). Kenya has recently switched all applications for citizenship, work permits and related matters to an online system, but fees are not posted there: see Kenya e-services website https://fns.immigration.go.ke/infopack/citizenship/. 136 Presidential Order No. 21/01 of 27/05/2009 establishing the procedure for the application and acquisition of Rwandan Nationality, Official Gazette No. special of 28/05/2009. 137 The Tanzania National Security Council Act No. 8 of 2010 provides that the functions of the District Security Committee include to “consider applications for citizenship and submit recommendations to the Regional Security Committee” (Section 11(e)); and that functions of the Regional Security Committee include to “Consider applications for citizenship and advise the Minister responsible for citizenship” (Section 9(e)). 36 UNHCR / September 2018