Zecharias Fassil The FDRE Nationality Proclamation states that a foreigner who fulfils the following requirements can acquire Ethiopian nationality following a formal letter of application. He/she must • have attained majority age and be legally capable under Ethiopian law • have been domiciled in Ethiopia for a total of four years • be able to communicate in any of the languages of nations/nationalities in the country • have sufficient and lawful sources of income • be a person of good character • have no record of criminal convictions • be able to be released from a previous nationality • be able to take the oath of allegiance stated under article 12.41 In addition to regular naturalisation procedures, the law provides for naturalisation in “special cases” with reduced formal requirements. This seems to be initiated by the government or the state, allowing citizenship as a way of giving special recognition to foreigners who have made an astounding contribution to the country. This is a very common practice in many jurisdictions. In Ethiopia, “a foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution in the interest of Ethiopia may be conferred with Ethiopian nationality by law irrespective of the conditions stated under …” (Article 8). It should be noted, however, that as dual nationality is not allowed in Ethiopia, the option of taking this nationality lies in the hands of the ‘awardee.’ However, the law is silent on whether this award can be claimed after remaining dormant for some time or if there is a specific time period for reacting to the conferring of nationality. The 2003 nationality law of Ethiopia should be praised as it has eased the burden of language proficiency for naturalisation. The 1930 nationality law contained the condition that a person who wishes to be naturalised with Ethiopian nationality must “know [the] Amharic language perfectly, speaking and writing it fluently.” Under the 2003 Proclamation, the ability to “communicate in any one of the languages of the nations/nationalities of the country” suffices.42 With regard to refugees, the Ethiopian law has now made some new room for naturalisation with the integration of protracted refugees who have lived in Ethiopia for 20 years, as in Pledge no. 6 of the New York Declaration 201643 and Article 41 of Refugee Proclamation 1110/2019.44 Nationality for a stronger reason can be part and parcel of local integration. Article 42 of the new refugee proclamation affirms that a refugee may apply for naturalisation as in the nationality law.45 41 Article 5 of Proclamation 378/2003. Article 5/3. 43 Administration for Refugee and Returnees Affairs (ARRA), Roadmap for the implementation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Government Pledges and for the practical application of the CRRF, 2018, p 7, Local Integration Pledge. 44 Refugee Protection Proclamation no. 1110/2019. 45 Ibid. 42 16 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/9- © 2020 Author(s)