Exploring the Interface Between Birth Registration and Citizenship Determination: A Scoping Study in Seven Countries in Southern Africa c. Legal Basis for Citizenship Determination at Birth Registration As described above, six of the seven countries (all but the Republic of Congo) make a citizenship determination for the child at birth registration. In three of these six countries—Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi—citizenship is addressed only in the citizenship laws, not in civil registration laws. As such, in these three countries, the citizenship determination process at birth registration is not set out in written procedures. As a result, this citizenship determination process is not standardized and determination for complex cases appear to be at the discretion of managers at the civil registration authorities, with no known mechanism for referral to higher officials or appeal. These three countries have expressed some initial interest in the development of standard operating procedures and citizenship referral mechanisms. As described in more detail below, only three of the analyzed countries—Namibia, Botswana and South Africa—have civil registration laws that either explicitly or implicitly grant the civil registration authority the power to make a citizenship determination. Of these three, only two—Namibia and Botswana—have transparent procedures with a right to appeal a negative citizen decision. Namibia Different approaches to ensure clarity on citizenship have been tried and discussed over the years in Namibia. In December 2024, the Namibian government enacted a new Civil Registration and Identification Act (CRI Act), which is not yet in force at the time of this report. Section 16 of the CRI Act on “birth certificates as evidence of citizenship” provides for two types of birth certificates: one for citizens and one for non-citizens. This section requires the registrar to issue a citizen birth certificate “if the registrar is satisfied that a parent listed in the application for birth registration is a Namibian citizen or a permanent resident of Namibia.” If the registrar is not satisfied that citizenship requirements are met, the child is issued a birth certificate indicating that there is “insufficient information to make an immediate determination of the right to Namibian citizenship.” For every child who gets an “undetermined” birth certificate, there is an automatic review process by an inter-departmental committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security. If it is determined that the child is a Namibian citizen, the “undetermined” certificate is withdrawn, and the child is issued a citizen birth certificate. If it is determined that the child is not a citizen, the “undetermined” certificate is withdrawn, and the child is issued a non-citizen birth certificate. In cases where a child’s citizenship is not determined by the government within six months, the child will automatically become a citizen and issued a citizens birth certificate. The act has specific provisions about evidence so that each case is considered on its own merits, and allows for sworn statements by undocumented individuals in lieu of documentation. Section 16(11) of the act also provides that if there is ever a conflict between a citizenship decision made under the Civil Registration and Identification Act and one made under the Namibian Citizenship Act (sections 14, 15 or 16), the decision under the Namibian Citizenship Act always prevails. The registrar-general must then update the civil register accordingly and issue a new birth certificate reflecting that decision. This means that citizenship decisions made under the Namibian Citizenship Act override anything decided under the Civil Registration and Identification Act, and official records must be corrected accordingly. The Civil Registration and Identification Act (Section 77) also allows for administrative review of a citizenship determination and appeal to the High 17