Anna Dziedzic
The Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Palau do not provide naturalisation for
persons who have resided in the state for a certain period. In these states, naturalisation is
available only to persons with other connections, such as the spouse of a citizen.
In the other nine states, naturalisation is discretionary, meaning that the state retains the
ability to deny an application for naturalisation, even if a person meets all of the formal criteria.
This discretion is evident in the statutory language, which provides that the decision maker
‘may’ grant or refuse an application for naturalisation. As shown in Table 2, an applicant for
naturalisation based on residence must show he or she is of ‘good character’, which also gives
the decision maker room to exercise discretion.
In these nine states, a person seeking naturalisation makes a formal application, and
their status is determined by the Minister, 60 the King, 61 the Cabinet, 62 or a specialist
Commission. 63 In the Marshall Islands, legislation imposes a quota maximum number of
naturalisations per year.64
Table 2 Naturalisation based on residence: criteria
Residence
(years)
FSM
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Is
Nauru
Palau
5 of 10
7
10
-
Renounce
other
citizenship
Yes
Yes
-
PNG
Samoa
Solomon Is
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
8
5
5 of 10
5
7
10
Yes
Yes
Language
Citizenship
test
Good
character
Intention
to reside
Loyalty
Yes
Yes
Yes
-
Means
of
support
Yes
Yes
-
Yes
Yes
Yes
-
Yes
-
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
-
Respect
for
customs
Yes
Yes
-
Knowledge
of duties of
citizenship
Yes
Yes
-
Yes
Yes
-
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
-
Yes
Yes
-
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Although most decisions about naturalisation are ultimately made by a central
government official or agency, several Oceanic states give a role to local community
representatives in the decision-making process. In Papua New Guinea, an ad hoc member is
appointed to the Citizenship Advisory Committee to represent the local community in which
the applicant resides.65 In the Marshall Islands, evidence of ‘good character’ is provided by
recommendations from the local government council of the community in which the applicant
resides.66 In Vanuatu, an application for naturalisation must be accompanied by a letter of
support from a representative of the town, island or provincial council of chiefs and the
President of the provincial government.67 In Nauru, it used to be the case that local government
councils could admit people to the Nauruan Community, although the process is now
60
Citizenship of Fiji Act 2009 (Fiji) s 12, Constitution of Papua New Guinea 1975 s 67; Citizenship Act 2004
(Samoa) s 8).
61
Constitution of Tonga 1875 s 29; Nationality Act c 59 (Tonga) s 8.
62
Citizenship Act 1984 (Marshall Is) §403
63
Citizenship Act c 8A (Kiribati) s 7; Citizenship Act 2018 (Solomon Is) s 14(2); Citizenship Act c 24.05
(Tuvalu) s 6(3); Citizenship Act c 112 (Vanuatu) s 12(2).
64
Citizenship Act 1984 (Marshall Is) s 403(2)(b).
65
Constitution of Papua New Guinea 1975 s 75; Hassall (n 24) 57.
66
Citizenship Act 1984 (Marshall Islands) s 403(2)(d).
67
Application Form A available https://vancitizenship.gov.vu/index.php/citizenship/application-forms.
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RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp 2020/1- © 2020 Author