naturalised citizen must reportedly pay the equivalent of US$3,000 for a passport.125 In 2013, President Koroma naturalised British journalist Mark Doyle and at least twenty others.126 The requirement for a presidential decree is no great barrier in some countries, such as Senegal, where presidential approval is a formality after the Ministry of Justice has verified that the conditions for naturalisation are fulfilled. But in many other countries, the perception is that the naturalisation procedure is highly politicised and only approved for those who have connections; naturalisation is therefore effectively available only to elite individuals with the full panoply of documents required, and the ability to follow their dossier closely through the process. In Côte d’Ivoire, in particular, the naturalisation process has been much criticised, especially in the case of group naturalisations.127 In Liberia, uniquely in West Africa, the Aliens and Nationality Law gives “exclusive jurisdiction” to naturalise persons as citizens of Liberia to the circuit courts in each county, which are to hear the application in open court. The attorney-general may also “designate an immigration officer to conduct a personal investigation of the person”, on the basis of which the attorney-general may petition the court in support or opposition to the application.128 The naturalisation process is still not very accessible, thanks to delays and difficulties with the circuit courts; but Liberia, also unusually, has committed to naturalise refugees based on long residence in the country, including several thousand Sierra Leonean former refugees.129 In these circumstances, those who wish to become nationals and show their commitment to a new country are unable to do so. Instead, they may be forced to obtain documents illicitly. This may be done in good faith: if the perception is that nationality is generally obtained through a birth certificate, then seeking a birth certificate in the country even if not born there may be rather an effort to “naturalise” than an act of fraud. Many “ordinary people” interviewed for this report who were longterm residents in a country where they did not have nationality papers were very hazy on what the correct procedures should be: they just wanted recognition as nationals in the place where their lives were centred and they had the strongest ties. 125 Sierra Leone Citizenship (Amendment) Act No. 11 of 2006; Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices : Sierra Leone, US Department of State, 8 April 2011; “Nasser Ayoub appeals to President Koroma”, Sierra Express, 15 May 2012 126 “Mark Doyle Subscribes to the oath of allegiance as Sierra Leonean”, Sierra Leone presidency, 5 November 2013; "’We Expect You To Be Good Citizens’ -- President Koroma Admonishes”, Sierra Leone presidency, 11 September 2013, both available at http://www.statehouse.gov.sl/ last accessed 08 July 2014. 127 For example, 8,133 immigrants of Burkinabè origin and their descendants born in Côte d’Ivoire settled in Bouaflé in central Côte d’Ivoire were naturalised by President Henri Konan Bédié by a collective decree in 1995; up to 2010, most of the individuals concerned still had no certificates of nationality proving their naturalisation although this was expressly envisaged by the decree. With the support of UNHCR, the ministry for human rights undertook awareness raising activities to confirm that these people were Ivorian. This collective naturalisation is still controversial today : See « Lutte contre l’apatridie : 8.133 postulants a la nationalité ivoirienne obtiennent leur naturalisation » Government of Cote d’Ivoire 4 March 2013; and « Bradage massif de la nationalité ivoirienne: Ouattara se sert de Bédié, grosse colère au PDCI », IvoireBusiness.net, 13 Mars 2013 ; additional information from Paul Koreki, Technical adviser, Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Civil Liberties, June 2013. 128 Aliens and Nationality Law, 1973, arts 21.1 to 21.5. Among the requirements to naturalise are that a person must “state that he does not believe in anarchy”. 129 “Liberia grants citizenship to 2,600 Sierra Leone refugees”, AFP, 13 November 2007; Zoom Dosso, “Sierra Leoneans to Get Liberian Citizenship” New Dawn (Monrovia), 25 August 2010, ”LIBERIA: 300 Sierra Leonean Refugees to be ‘naturalized’”, West Africa Democracy Radio, 18 June 2013. 41