26. Section 5 of the TCA provides that “.... every person born in the United Republic on or after Union Day shall be deemed to have become and to have continued to be a citizen of the United Republic with effect from the date of his birth....” unless neither of the parents were citizens of Tanzania; if the father was a foreign diplomat; or either of the parents was an enemy alien and the birth occurred in a place under enemy occupation.15 While, on the face of it, this preserves jus soli acquisition of citizenship, official practice differs significantly to the law and it is common that jus soli citizenship must be further supported by jus sanguinis citizenship through one parent. 16 In order to acquire Tanzanian citizenship, the person must be born in the country and at least one parent must be a Tanzanian national. 27. The TCA also recognises as a citizen by descent any person born outside of Tanzania on or after the Union Day to a father or mother who is a citizen of Tanzania other than by descent. Moreover, all persons having been born outside either Tanganyika or Zanzibar before Union Day, who were recognised as citizens by descent, retained their status as such under the new law.17 Risks of statelessness arise for persons born abroad to parents who acquired Tanzanian nationality by descent. 28. The TCA also provides for citizenship by naturalisation. In order to be eligible for naturalisation, one must be of full age and capacity, renounce any other nationality, and must fulfil various conditions, such as being “of good character” and having the intention to permanently reside in Tanzania following naturalisation. Apart from that, the TCA provides for a simplified naturalisation by virtue of marriage. Such facilitated naturalisation includes that the application can be made directly to the minister, unlike other naturalisation applications which must be initiated at a local government office. 29. The Tanzania Citizenship (Amendments) Regulations 2017 reduced the citizenship application fee for some groups of people, including those at risk of statelessness to 17%-18% i.e. from USD 5,000 to TZS 2,000,000 equivalent to USD 862. This applies to people who were born before independence but are not recognised as citizens; those born before or after independence to parents who were not recognised as citizens under the Citizenship Act of 1961 and their children; people who entered Tanzania before or after independence and resided there for a period of time which in the opinion of the Commissioner General of Immigration in consultation with the Minister qualifies them and their children to be granted citizenship under this condition; and children born outside Tanzania to parents who are citizens by descent. However, the majority of people belonging to these groups are not able to afford the reduced fee, and therefore still face barriers to naturalisation, leaving them in limbo, at high risk of being stateless. Other National laws 30. Law of the Child Act, Cap. 13 (R.E 2019) provides that a child has a right to a nationality and the right to birth registration. Civil registration is governed by the 1920 Births and Deaths Registration Act (CAP 108, R.E 2002), which covers mainland Tanzania, and the 2017 Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency Act, which covers Zanzibar. According to these laws, birth registration is universal for all children born in Tanzania, regardless of their status. The law provides for birth registration fees of TZS 3500 (USD 1.52) for early registration, and TZS 4,000 (USD 1.73) for late registration after less than ten years. For 15 Tanzania Citizenship Act (1995); Section 5(1-2). Manby, B. Citizenship in Africa, p. 80. 17 Tanzania Citizenship Act (1995); Section 6. 16 6