Citizenship is an important document for any citizen of a country because it enables people to exercise the most fundamental legal privileges. Right to education, the ability to engage in commercial activity, acquisition and transfer of property, houses, and land, obtaining a passport, voting rights, and even basics like opening a bank account.
It is the right to identify as a Nepali citizen.
History of Citizenship law in Nepal
On February 28, 1964 AD (BS 2020-11-16) parliament put into effect the “Nepal Citizenship Act 1964”. The act provided single citizenship in the entire country. Later in 2006, the “Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006” was enacted to repeal the 1964 act. 2006 act contained the provisions related to termination and acquisition of citizenship in Nepal. To get citizenship in Nepal, people need to present the citizenship of their mother and father, along with their birth certificate, prior to that a birth certificate was not required.
Constitution’s Concern on Citizenship
Citizenship or Nationality in Nepal is regulated under Articles 10 to 15 of the constitution of Nepal. The Constitution of Nepal describes four types of citizenship which are,
Citizenship based on descent: An individual is qualified to claim citizenship by descent if his/her parents, grandparents, or perhaps even great-grandparents were natives of Nepal.
Citizenship based on birth: When a person is born into a family of Nepali citizens or is born on a state's soil, they have the legal status to get Citizenship based on birth.
Naturalized citizenship: Naturalized citizenship is the legal process by which a non-citizen of a country can get citizenship or nationality of Nepal.
Honorary citizenship: A person who makes a special contribution to the country can grant honorary citizenship.
Right now, the Citizenship act 2063 is in implementation. The citizenship amendment bill was being discussed for over three years (since 2018), but it could not bring an agreement among political parties. The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2022 has started the journey toward the upper house. In doing so, it has addressed some major revisions concerning the citizenship law. They are discussed below,
Citizenship by birth
Before the Constitution of Nepal was drafted in 2015 (BS 2072), the government would have issued descent and naturalized citizenship, citizenship by birth. This meant any child born within a country’s borders or territory was automatically granted citizenship if the person did not have other citizenship. But, the government did not include that provision in the constitution.
All eligible children in Nepal born before September 20, 2015 AD ( BS 2072-06-03) the day when the Constitution of Nepal was implemented, were granted naturalized citizenship. However, their children haven’t got citizenship in the absence of a law. The constitution said the provision to grant them citizenship would be guided by federal law. The federal law hasn’t been prepared even seven years after the declaration.
Addressing this, the proposed amendment to the citizenship law aims to give citizenship by descent to those children born to parents with Nepali citizenship. This proposal seems to have been accepted by all major political parties.
Citizenship Through Mother’s Name
The constitution has the provision in Article 11(5) that the government can hand out citizenship to the person through their mother’s name. But, since the government has not made changes to the citizenship law, this constitutional provision has not been implemented yet.
The proposed amendment has addressed this too. Those who have not been able to obtain their citizenship through their Nepali mother, born in Nepal will also get citizenship by descent if he/she lives in Nepal. This law is implemented for those children too who are unaware of their biological fathers. However, the mother has to self-declare that the father "cannot be identified". She will be liable for action if found the claim of the "unidentified father” turns out to be wrong. The punishment of 6 Months to 1 year of imprisonment or a fine of fifty thousand to one lakh rupees or both.
Criticism of the Act
The Constitution of Nepal has the provision that citizenship by descent will be converted into naturalized citizenship if his/her father is found to be a foreign citizen. Against the constitutional provision, the bill has a provision of taking punitive action against the mother if the father is found.
It is also criticized because the father doesn’t even need to mention the children's mother's citizenship status in order for his children to get citizenship.
Adopting Surnames of the Parents
Another provision is the children can choose either the surname and address of their mother or father while acquiring citizenship. Children also can choose to add their father's and Mother's surnames both as they wanted. The citizenship will have details of both the father and mother of the child. Currently, the citizenship has details of the father, grandfather, or husband.
Citizenship For Orphans
Likewise, the bill has another provision allowing citizenship to the orphans whose fathers and mothers are not identified. They will get citizenship based on the testimonials from the orphanages or the shelter house, or the respective local governments.
In addition, the children of a Nepali mother born to a foreign father too can obtain naturalized citizenship.
Citizenship to Non-resident Nepalis (NRNs)
The government has addressed the slogan of NRNs around the world - ‘Once a Nepali, Always a Nepali’.
The provision of different types of citizenship would be granted to them. Citizenship will give them economic, social, and cultural rights but not political and administrative rights, meaning these citizens cannot vote, contest an election, or get appointed to public posts. The provision will apply only to those who reside outside the South Asian region.
Citizenship to a Foreigner
The bill has retained the existing provisions in the Act on marital naturalized citizenship. It says a foreign woman married to a Nepali man can obtain naturalized citizenship once she starts the process to renounce her citizenship of the country of her origin. However, the provision doesn’t apply to foreign men married to Nepali women.
Foreign men married to Nepali women have to abide by provisions applied to any other foreigners for naturalization. They can apply for naturalized citizenship if they have any contribution to science, philosophy, arts, literature, world peace, human welfare, industrialization, economic or social sectors and have lived for 15 years continuously in Nepal, renounced the citizenship of their country of origin, and be able to speak Nepali or other languages are spoken in Nepal to qualify for naturalization.
Criticisms of the Act
The provision seems gender-biased because it has different laws for men and women. Even in the United States, for instance, both spouses are treated equally regardless of their gender, and the spouse of a US citizen who has resided in the country with his or her citizen spouse for at least three years can apply for naturalization. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-3
India takes seven years to grant citizenship to foreign women married to Indian men.
Right now, the bill has moved to the National Assembly, the upper house, before the president enacts this to become a part of the citizenship law. After the approval, it will go for implementation. Nepal’s first Citizenship Amendment Bill 2022 will modify the Nepal Citizenship Act 2006.
