Losing Zimbabwean Citizenship

Section 39 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act of 2013 (‘the Constitution) provides for cases where citizenship by birth can be revoked. These include where citizenship was acquired by fraud or misrepresentation and in cases where one’s identity of parents is known and it is confirmed that they were citizens in another country. See Shaw & Another v Registrar General HH 250-22. Zimbabwean citizenship must not be revoked under this section if the person would be rendered stateless.

The Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 4:01] also provides for circumstances where one can lose Zimbabwean citizenship. Section 9 of this Act provides that a citizen of Zimbabwe of full age who, by voluntary act other than marriage, acquires the citizenship of a foreign country shall immediately cease to be a citizen of Zimbabwe. If a citizen acquires foreign citizenship through marriage, he or she will lose Zimbabwean citizenship one year after the marriage provided that they did not renounce it.

Also, section 13 of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 4:01] provides for losing citizenship through absence from Zimbabwe. A citizen of Zimbabwe by registration shall cease to be a citizen of Zimbabwe if, after he has become of full age and while he is of sound mind, he is or has been absent from Zimbabwe for a continuous period of five (5) years or such longer period as the Minister at his request may fix before the expiry of the period. Zimbabweans are also allowed to renounce their nationality, provided that they receive permission from the ministry responsible for nationality provisions.

In this case it was made clear that:

“The powers given to Parliament in respect of revocation of Zimbabwean citizenship and the prohibition of dual citizenship relate only to citizens of Zimbabwe other than by birth. No similar provision is made in respect of citizens by birth. Thus, a Zimbabwean citizen by birth does not lose his or her citizenship on acquiring a foreign citizenship. He or she is entitled to hold foreign citizenship and a foreign passport.”

The Constitution has made it clear that Zimbabwean citizenship by birth cannot be lost. Mawere v Registrar-General & Others 2013 (1) ZLR 578 (C). This clearly shows that one cannot lose Zimbabwean citizenship by birth. Thus, citizenship by registration can be lost through absence from the country for five (5) years. Citizenship by birth cannot be lost unless it was acquired fraudulently or when it is later discovered that one’s parents were citizens of another country.