Statelessness in Southern Africa - no rights R: child is citizen from birth as of right Rx1: child is citizen from birth as of right only if parents born in country / citizens from birth ~ racial / ethnic discrimination in citizenship law: specified groups listed for preferential treatment C: can claim citizenship following an administrative process (including to establish parentage but excluding birth registration) * mother (or father) passes citizenship only if father (or mother) of unknown nationality or stateless or if father does not claim † the position is ambiguous in that legislation conflicts with the constitution—the constitutional provisions are noted here unless they provide only general principles and the detailed rules are established by legislation ^ Rights to citizenship from grandparents: if born in or outside the country & one grandparent is a citizen Right to pass citizenship to a spouse Gender discrimination remains quite widespread in southern Africa in relation to the rights of spouses to transmit nationality. Although most spouses affected by this provision will not be stateless, the risk of statelessness is increased, and may affect their children (especially where, as is sometimes the case, gender discrimination also applies to transmission of nationality to children, and the children are born in the mother’s state of nationality). The laws of Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe all facilitate the acquisition of nationality by spouses of nationals, and also give equal rights of men and women for acquisition of nationality by a foreign spouse. In Mozambique, the Constitution is gender neutral, but conflicts with the nationality law, which provides that women married to Mozambican men (but not vice versa) acquire nationality if they renounce their former nationality. The laws of Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland, however, explicitly restrict the grant of nationality on the basis of marriage to the wives of male citizens. In the case of Malawi, the grant of nationality remains highly discretionary, so that it hardly gives any additional rights over naturalisation. The Citizenship Act additionally requires every female Malawian citizen who marries a non-Malawian citizen and acquires another citizenship to formally state her intention to either retain her Malawian citizenship and renounce any foreign citizenship acquired by virtue of her marriage or lose her Malawian citizenship (section 9). There is no equivalent requirement in respect of male Malawian citizens. Swaziland specifically provides that a foreign woman who acquired Swazi citizenship through marriage may be deprived of that citizenship where the marriage was entered into merely for the purpose of acquiring citizenship (though perhaps in other countries this eventuality might be covered by provisions on fraud).88 In Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe the struggle of women to obtain equal rights successfully removed discrimination in the grant of citizenship to spouses — but only to put a spouse on the same conditional terms as other applicants for naturalisation, or simply reducing the period of residence required (in the case of Botswana and Zimbabwe). Simple registration for spouses was restored in Zimbabwe by 2009 constitutional amendments.89 In 2010, Namibia amended its Constitution to change the period for acquisition of citizenship by marriage from two to 10 years.90 South Africa requires that a spouse be admitted for permanent residence (which usually takes a minimum of five years but may be issued immediately to a spouse) in addition to a minimum period of marriage — the original act provided for a two year period of marriage and ordinary residence in the country, but 2010 amendments simply refer to “a prescribed period” (official websites still refer to a two year period).91 Only Mozambique provides a specific waiver in relation to the marriage period for stateless spouses.92 88 Constitution 2005, Article 49(2). The Constitution also makes specific provision for (voluntary) renunciation of Swazi citizenship in case of women who are or are about to be married to a citizen of another country. 89 Constitution, 1981, as amended 2009, article 7(4). 90 Namibian Constitution Second Amendment Act, 2010 (Act No. 7 of 2010), section 1. 91 South African Citizenship Act, 1995, section 5(5) as amended by South African Citizenship Amendment Act No.17 of 2010; South Africa Immigration Act, No.13 of 2002, section 26. 92 Constitution, 2004, article 26. 19