Furthermore, in November 2015, A again visited the Embassy of Ethiopia with a legal
representative and requested a passport renewal, but he was told that his passport could
not be renewed because he was born in Asmara, and his renewal application was not
accepted. He also asked about the possibility of being issued a travel document for onetime use to go to Ethiopia, but he was told that it could be issued only to a “national”, and
his application for a travel document was not accepted either.
(2) Eritrea
According to the 1992 Eritrean Nationality Proclamation, people who were residing in
the Eritrean region in 1933 are of Eritrean descent, and those born from parents of
Eritrean descent are Eritrean citizens. The 1997 Constitution of Eritrea also provides that
any person born of an Eritrean father or mother is an Eritrean by birth.129
It is reported that on 27 January 2004, the UK Home Office received a letter from the
Eritrean Embassy in London which stated that a person who has an Eritrean father or
mother would be eligible for Eritrean nationality as long as the person provides three
witnesses.130 A British fact-finding mission report published on 29 April 2003 contains
details about the acquisition of nationality with three witnesses. 131 While it is not
necessarily clear whether the ‘three witnesses’ method is a condition for the acquisition
of nationality or merely a procedure to confirm nationality already acquired, the Eritrean
government treats a person as an Eritrean national with verification by three witnesses.
A has his parents and six siblings, but their whereabouts are unknown except one
younger sister. Also, A himself and his parents do not possess any Eritrean identification
documents showing them to be of Eritrean origin, and they do not have any
acquaintances who could serve as three witnesses for their Eritrean nationality. Thus, it
would be difficult for A to acquire Eritrean nationality with three witnesses.
(3) Japan
A procedure for the acquisition of Japanese nationality is an application for
naturalization. The Nationality Act does not prescribe Japanese language proficiency as
a condition for naturalization; however, in practice, a certain level of Japanese language
proficiency is required. It is highly likely that A would not be granted naturalization even
if he applied because he does not meet this part of the criteria.
129
Constitution of Eritrea (23 May 1997). Rerefence has been made to the following:
http://www.refworld.org/docid/3dd8aa904.html.
130 United Kingdom Home Office, Country of Origin Information Report – Eritrea (2010), at
http://www.refworld.org/docid/4c286cfa2.html, p. 106.
131 Id. An applicant can choose any three Eritreans in the world as long as he or she knows them
personally and call on them to verify that the applicant is an Eritrean national. If the person is abroad,
he or she must go to the Eritrean embassy of that State in order to answer questions. The three
witnesses must be Eritreans who hold an Eritrean identification card or passport. Although every adult
is supposed to have a national ID card, and anyone holding an Eritrean passport would be in possession
of that card, identity records are not centralized.
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