20 Aug 2024

The Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs is taking significant steps to amend the Citizenship Act, aiming to introduce dual citizenship as part of the nation’s efforts to align with global standards and prevent statelessness.

Presenting the Citizenship Amendment Bill of 2024 in Parliament recently, Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Honourable Annah Mokgethi said there was a need to enable Batswana and other nations to be at liberty to choose being dual citizens, if they so wished.

“There are issues of national interest that would be addressed by allowing this Bill to go through, amongst them is to avoid the risk of those citizens from becoming stateless and those who have been denied access to certain amenities due to the status quo,” she said.

Minister Mokgethi also stated that the Bill would serve as a response to the High Court judgment on dual citizenship which declared Section 15.1, Section 15.4 of the Citizenship Act unconstitutional.

She further noted that the new legislation would play a pivotal role in tackling brain drain, addressing irregular migration, promoting economic diversification, and mitigating the issue of statelessness.

Minister Mokgethi said a comprehensive consultative exercise preceded the drafting of the Bill, ensuring that existing laws were aligned with the introduction of dual citizenship.

The minister said as the country transitioned, the Citizenship Amendment Bill was vital for enhancing Botswana’s competitiveness in the global market. “Furthermore, dual citizenship can prevent statelessness by ensuring children born to Batswana parents abroad, are recognised as citizens, protecting their rights and guaranteeing their legal status,” she said. The Bill is expected to go to committee stage at a later date. ENDS