Patrícia Jerónimo
fall under Article 24 (2) of the Constitution. Per Article 5 (1) of the Nationality Regulation,
the birth registration of children born in Mozambique to foreign parents one of which is in
Mozambique in the service of his or her respective country must include mention to the
‘special situation of the parents’ in the identification of the child. Per Article 5 (2), if the child
to be registered is not identified as the child of a career diplomat or consular agent, accredited
before Mozambican authorities, the author of the registration must submit a document issued
by the diplomatic or consular services of his or her country and confirmed by the
Mozambican Ministry of Foreign Affairs that attests that the father or the mother of the child
to be registered was in Mozambique in the service of his or her country at the date of the
child’s birth.
Except for individuals born in Mozambique to foreigners in the service of their
country, all other children born in Mozambique are entitled to Mozambican citizenship by
birth, irrespective of whether their parents are Mozambican or foreigners, unknown, stateless
or of unknown citizenship. The attribution is automatic, by mere effect of the law, even for
children born to foreign parents not in the service of their country, who no longer need to
declare their wish to be Mozambican, as was the case until 2004 under Article 12 (3) and (4)
of the 1990 Constitution. Article 2 (3) and (4) of the 1975 Nationality Act, which required a
declaration of the wish to be Mozambican and set a deadline for that declaration to be made,
should therefore be considered as implicitly repealed with the entry into force of the 2004
Constitution.
The Nationality Regulation does not require registration of those who are citizens by
birth under Article 24 (1) of the Constitution, but prescribes that they may be asked to prove
that they meet the requirements for attribution of citizenship by birth when exercising rights
or applying for offices reserved for Mozambican citizens [Article 2 (2) a contrario and
Article 3 (2)]. Per Article 4 (1) of the Nationality Regulation, Mozambican citizenship is
assumed for all individuals born in Mozambique, provided that their birth registration does
not include any mention to the contrary. Article 4 (2) excepted from this assumption children
born in Mozambique after independence to a foreign father and a foreign mother, but this
exception is arguably at odds with the current citizenship regime’s broad and unconditional
ius soli rule. Article 4 (1) should be enough to account for the cases falling under the
diplomatic exception.
Attribution based on birth in Mozambique after independence to foreign parents in the
service of their country combined with declaration of the wish to be Mozambican: Breaking
with the previous regime, Article 24 (3) of the 2004 Constitution recognises as Mozambican
citizens by birth individuals born in Mozambique to foreign parents who, at the time of birth,
were/are in Mozambique in the service of their country, provided that they (or their legal
representatives, before they turn 18) declare their wish to be Mozambican. The declaration
must be made within one year of the child’s birth, if made by the child’s legal representatives,
or within one year after the child turns 18, if made by the child him or herself [Article 24 (4)
of the Constitution].
The declaration is made before any Civil Registry official and must include the
interested party’s full name, age, civil status, profession, place of birth, residence and current
citizenship; the full name, civil status, place of birth and residence of the interested party’s
parents; and the purpose of the declaration; and be accompanied by the birth registration
certificate of the interested party [Article 21 (1) and (5) of the Nationality Regulation]. Once
the declaration is made, it is added to the interested party’s birth registration (Article 7 of the
Nationality Regulation) and he or she is immediately registered as Mozambican by birth, per
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RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2019/6 - © 2019 Author
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