Comparative regional report on citizenship law: Anglophone Caribbean
3.3 Loss of citizenship
All Anglophone Caribbean countries allow for individuals to renounce their citizenship,
contingent only on a few limitations. They also provide measures by which those who either
registered or naturalised for citizenship may have their citizenship withdrawn (typically due
to fraud in acquisition, but also because an individual has been deemed a security, or similar,
threat). Of note, citizenship revocation in these latter cases of involuntary citizenship loss can
result in statelessness. Statelessness is also a possibility when a country allows for citizenship
withdrawal if an individual is stripped of citizenship in another Commonwealth country on
grounds that are similar to that of the Anglophone Caribbean country (see Table 10).
3.3.1 Voluntary loss of citizenship
All Anglophone Caribbean countries permit their citizens to renounce their citizenship. The
main exceptions to a citizen’s ability to renounce include: not meeting the minimum age and
“full capacity” requirements, and seeking citizenship from a country with which their country
of original citizenship is at war. In nearly all of the cases, a citizen’s renunciation becomes
invalid if s/he is unable to acquire another citizenship (and is not a dual national) within a
specified period (typically 12 months). This provision helps ensure that individuals in those
countries are not rendered stateless.
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RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp. 2020/3 - © 2020 Authors