Kelly Kapianga (LCK Chambers)
narrowed, and are now restricted to cases where citizenship was obtained through fraud,
misrepresentation and concealment of a material fact.134
3.8 Summary of current provisions for acquisition of citizenship
As a result of all that has been discussed above, the 2016 Constitution provides, first, that all
citizens under the preceding constitutional regimes continue being citizens. Outside this class,
citizenship can be acquired by:
a) Birth: in cases where a person is born in Zambia, aboard a ship or an aircraft
registered in or owned by the government of the Republic of Zambia and at least one
of their parents is or was at their death a Zambian citizen.135
b) Descent: in cases where a person is born abroad to at least one Zambian parent.136
c) Adoption, in cases where a person under the age of 16 is legally adopted by a
citizen.137
d) By presumption: where a person under the age of eight years is found within Zambia
and both their nationality and parentage are unknown.138
e) By registration: that is, where a person is above the age of 18 and they:
f) were born in Zambia and have been ordinarily resident in Zambia for at least five
years;
g) were born outside Zambia, have or had an ancestor who is, or was, a citizen and they
have been ordinarily resident in Zambia for a period of at least five years;
h) have been ordinarily resident in Zambia for a continuous period of at least ten years
immediately preceding that person’s application for registration;139 or
i) a person who is, or was married to a citizen, for a period of at least five years, is
entitled to apply to the Citizenship Board of Zambia.140
The 2016 Constitution, like all its predecessors except the 1964 Constitution, creates the
Citizenship Board of Zambia141 (CBZ) which serves as the institution to regulate the
constitutional and statutory provisions on citizenship. In addition, the principal functions of
the CBZ are to deal with applications for registration as a citizen, matters relating to the loss
of citizenship and to retain citizenship information.142
134
Article 40, Citizenship of Zambia Act 2016, sections 27, 28 and 29.
Article 35(1) as read with Articles 35 (3) and 44 of the Constitution
136
Article 36 of the 2016 Constitution
137
Article 38 of the 2016 Constitution
138
Article
139
Article 37(1)
140
Article 37(2) of the 2016 Constitution
141
Article 41 of the 2016 Constitution
142
Per section 4(1) of the Citizenship Act, 2016
135
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RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/14- © 2020 Author(s)