Report on Citizenship Law: Tanzania
Where one’s application is successful, they will have to renounce any citizenship or claim of
protection they may enjoy from another country and also take an oath of allegiance96.
Naturalisation of minors: The Minister may, if there are circumstances he or she considers
special, cause the naturalisation of a minor child. Although, for all other non-citizen minors,
their parents or guardians may apply for their naturalisation97 upon providing the following
requirements98: the parent’s or guardian’s proof of citizenship of parent or guardian; the birth
certificate of a child; a valid immigration status for the child; passport photographs, and a nonrefundable submission fee.
Naturalisation through marriage: A foreign woman married to a Tanzanian citizen, may at
any time during the lifetime of her husband apply for naturalisation99. Yet, a woman who before
her marriage to a Tanzanian citizen, renounced or was deprived of her Tanzanian citizenship
under the law, can only be naturalised with the Minister’s approval100. In applying for
naturalisation, the woman must also submit a marriage certificate registered in Tanzania, proof
of the husband’s citizenship, a valid passport, proof of immigration status, and passport
photographs101.
The Minister is not obliged to give reasons for his or her decision to grant or not to
grant an application, the decision is final and not subject to any judicial appeal or review102.
This is one of the provisions of the TCA with more observable restrictions on
citizenship acquisition. In the previous law, a woman married to a Tanzanian citizen was
entitled to apply for registration whether or not the citizen husband was alive, and whether or
not the marriage was subsisting. The current law apparently disqualifies widowed or divorced
foreign wives of Tanzanian husbands. Furthermore, and as a carry-over from the previous law,
the fact that the law fails to provide for foreign husbands married to Tanzanian women cannot
be ignored. Reportedly, TANU had been concerned with the possibility of foreign men, who
through marriage, tried to gain citizenship for expedient reasons103.
3.2 Prohibition of dual citizenship for adults
Under the TCA, once a person turns eighteen years and they hold another citizenship in addition
to the Tanzanian citizenship, they shall be deemed to have ceased to be a Tanzanian citizen,
unless they had previously renounced their other citizenship and taken the oath of allegiance104.
The cessation of Tanzanian nationality also applies to persons who turned eighteen before and
after the Union day and continued to hold the citizenship of another country in addition to
either their Tanganyikan or Zanzibari citizenship105. The law goes ahead to provide for
cessation of citizenship for anyone who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country
after they turn eighteen106.
96
TCA, section 9 (3).
TCA, section 10 (1-2).
98
Tanzania Immigration website, supra note 94.
99
TCA, section 11(1).
100
TCA, section 11 (2).
101
Tanzania immigration website, supra note 94.
102
TCA, section 23.
103
Miller, supra note 19, p. 137.
104
TCA, section 7(1).
105
TCA, section 7 (2-3).
106
TCA, section 7(4).
97
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RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/6- © 2020 Author(s)