Citizenship is a juristic and political status in which an individual enjoys full, legally sanctioned membership in a state and owes full allegiance to it. Citizenship is a status that is legally granted to an individual by a state which enables such individual to enjoy the privileges and responsibilities that comes with that status.

OBTAINING NIGERIAN CITIZENSHIP

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended ("CFRN") ("Constitution") provides for three means of obtaining Nigerian Citizenship: Birth,1 Registration2 and Naturalization.3 The Constitution provides a list of boxes applicants must tick to be eligible for Nigerian citizenship through any of these means, however, the procedure and documentations required are further provided in the Citizenship Requirements Handbook, issued by the Citizenship and Business Department of the Federal Ministry of Interior.

A major requirement as provided for in section 28 (2) of the Constitution is that only persons who are citizens of another country by birth are allowed to obtain Nigerian citizenship through registration or naturalization. Where such persons are not citizens of the other country by birth, issuance of the certificate of registration or naturalisation is conditional upon effective renunciation of the citizenship or nationality of that other country within a period of not more than five months from the date of such registration or grant of certificate of naturalisation. 

The three means of obtaining Nigerian citizenship are discussed below.

  1. CITIZENSHIP BY  BIRTH

Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitutionexplains in detail those individuals who are eligible for Nigerian citizenship under this category. People eligible for citizenship under this category are:

  1. Individuals born in Nigeria before October 1, 1960, either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents belongs or belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria. This subsection emphasizes the word 'indigenous' to Nigeria, which means that that person must have blood ties to Nigeria. However, for a person to be a citizen by birth here, either his parents or his grandparents must have been born in Nigeria.
  2. Individuals that are born in the territory of Nigeria after October 1 1960 whose parents or any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria; and
  3. Individuals born outside of Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria. This subsection deals with citizenship by birth via descent.

From the above, especially the third category, it is clear that one does not need to be born in Nigeria to have a Nigerian citizenship.Once your parents or grandparents are citizens of Nigeria, even if you were not born in Nigeria, you are qualified to apply for citizenship by birth in Nigeria. 

Ordinarily, this form of citizenship should be the easiest to obtain, however, this is not the case. An overview of citizenship as provided on the Ministry of Interior's website4 provides for a process called 'issuing of citizenship by confirmation (under Section 25 (1)(b) and (c) of the Nigerian Constitution, specifically for individuals of Nigerian descent who wish to gain Nigerian citizenship. The service is however not available for now and persons under this category are adviced to seek citizenship by registration or Naturalization.

  1. CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION

This category of citizenship is covered under Section 26 of the Nigerian Constitution. Citizenship by registration is only available to:

  1. Women5 married to citizens of Nigeria6. The Constitution does not state the same for a man who is married to a woman from Nigeria, due to the patriarchal nature of the society.
  2. Persons of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria any of whose grandparent(s) is a citizen of Nigeria7

It is important t quickly point out here that the second requirement, the key word is 'grandparent(s)'. This is what distinguishes it from the third category of persons that are qualified as citizens of Nigeria by birth - born outside Nigeria, but any of their parents, not grandparents, is a citizen of Nigeria.

A person who falls within the stipulations of Section 28 (2) of the Constitution may be registered as a citizen of Nigeria if the President is satisfied that:

  1. He is a person of good character;
  2. He has shown a clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in Nigeria; and
  3. He has taken the Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution.8

CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE HANDBOOK ON CITIZENSHIP

  1. REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION FOR WOMEN MARRIED TO CITIZENS OF NIGERIA (NIGER-  WIVES)
  1. Receipt of payment of application fee
  2. 24 passport photographs
  3. Duly completed application and information form
  4. Evidence of means of livelihood
  5. Marriage Certificate
  6. Residence Permit/Birth certificate if born in Nigeria
  7. First 5 Pages of International Passport Including Data Page
  8. Letter of consent from husband/children/relatives in case of deceased husband
  9. Particular of previous marriage(s) (where applicable)
  10. Evidence of husband/relatives' citizenship in case of deceased husband (state/local government certificate of origin or naturalization certificate)
  11. Letter from at least two referees with the referee's passport photographs (2), curriculum vitae and ID Card (Driver's License/International Passport/National ID Card) of Guarantors
  1. REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION FOR PERSONS OF FULL AGE AND CAPACITY BORN OUTSIDE NIGERIA ANY OF WHOSE GRANDPARENT(S) IS A CITIZEN OF NIGERIA AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE HANDBOOK ON CITIZENSHIP DIVISION-
  1. Passport photograph
  2. Applicant's birth certificate
  3. Marriage certificate where applicable
  4. Residence permit
  5. First 5 pages of International Passport including the data page
  6. Upload evidence of Nigerian citizenship of either parent/ grand parent/great grand parent
  7. Letter from at least two referees with the referee's passport photographs (2), curriculum vitae and ID Card (Driver's License/International Passport/National ID Card)
  1. CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION

Persons within the stipulation of Section 27 (2) of the Constitution may apply to the President for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation. Such persons must satisfy the President that -

(a) He is a person of full age and capacity;

(b) He is a person of good character;

(c) He has shown a clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in Nigeria;

(d) He is, in the opinion of the Governor of the State where he is or he proposes to be resident, acceptable to the local community in which he is to live permanently, and has been assimilated into the way of life of Nigerians in that part of the Federation;

(e) He is a person who has made or is capable of making useful contributions to the advancement; progress and well-being of Nigeria;

(f) He has taken the Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution; and

(g) He has, immediately preceding the date of his application, either-

  • Has resided in Nigeria for a continuous period of fifteen years; or
  • Resided in Nigeria continuously for a period of twelve months, and during the period of twenty years immediately preceding that period of twelve months has resided in Nigeria for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than fifteen years.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE HANDBOOK ON CITIZENSHIP DIVISION -

  1. Receipt of payment of application fee
  2. Formal application duly signed by the applicant
  3. Duly completed application and information form
  4. Passport photographs
  5. Evidence of means of livelihood (letter of employment, company documents etc)
  6. Tax Clearance Certificate
  7. Residence Permit/Birth certificate if born in Nigeria
  8. First 5 Pages of International Passport including the data page
  9. Recommendation from two guarantors/sponsors/referees with 2 passport photographs, curriculum vitae, ID Card (Driver's License/International Passport/National ID Card) and evidence socio-economic contribution
  10. Evidence of Socio-Economic Contributions

Section 28 of the Constitution makes it clear that a person who intends to acquire Nigerian citizenship by Registration or by Naturalisation must first renounce citizenship of other countries they may have acquired previously, except citizenship of a country acquired by birth. If a non-Nigerian wishes to be a citizen of Nigeria by registration or naturalisation, they must not retain any previous citizenship unless it was acquired by birth.

  1. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS (SIS)

This is granted to non-Nigerian male spouses of citizens of Nigeria. It is conditional upon a continuous marriage and residence in Nigeria for a period of five (5) years. This category is in accordance With Chapter III, Section 32 of the Nigerian Constitution.

This process is in three stages as follows:

  1. the first is statge is the submission of documents at  the Federal Ministry of Interior (FMI), Abuja,
  2. the second stage will be the issuance and submission of an Authentic Report from the state of residence of the applicant to Abuja (please note that documentation and requirements for this second stage vary from state to state) and
  3. The approval will be issued by the FMI and Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card ("CERPAC")  will be issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRATION STATUS (SIS)

  1. Receipt of payment of application fee
  2. Formal application letter from the Nigerian spouse in which she will be willing to bear immigration responsibilities on behalf of her non-Nigerian spouse
  3. Marriage Certificate (original for sighting)
  4. Evidence of Source of Income or means of livelihood of the non-Nigerian Spouse
  5. Scanned first 5 Pages of husband and wife's International Passport
  6. Local Government Certificate of origin of the Nigeria Spouse
  7. Birth Certificate of Children (If any)
  8. Tax Clearance Certificate of the non-Nigeria Spouse
  9. Residence Permit/ CERPAC Document of the non-Nigeria Spouse
  10. Relevant Marriage Photos
  11. Relevant documents as may be requested for by the Home Affairs of the appliacnt's state of residence

RENUNCIATION OF NIGERIAN CITIZENSHIP9

This applies to Nigerian citizens of full age10 who wish to renounce their Nigerian citizenship. The requirements include:

  1. Receipt of payment of application fee
  2. Formal application letter
  3. Duly completed application form (Form G)
  4. Birth certificate
  5. State/Local Government of origin
  6. Two passport photographs
  7. Affidavit of renunciation before a commissioner for oath (Hight Court or Magistrate Court)
  8. Evidence letter from the country the applicants intend to acquire citizenship

CONCLUSION

The Nigerian Constitution explicitly makes provisions for individuals who want to obtain Nigerian citizenship through a well-laid-out procedure. Acquiring citizenship in Nigeria is far less strenuous than in other jurisdictions, where the requirements are much stricter and individuals have to go through many rigorous steps and invest a huge amount of money. It should be noted, however, that the Constitution forbids Nigerian citizens by registration and naturalisation to hold citizenship of other countries other than their country of birth.

We must not forget to add that the Ministry of Interior still has the herculean task to make the application processes for citizenship more clear and direct; guildlines and updates should be issued frequetly to make fees, procedures and requirements known to all. So far, the reality has been that practicality of the existing guidelines and  are more cumbersome and technical when compared to written guidelines, this ought not to be so. We recommend effective automated application, processing, payment and approval process to encourage ease and transperacy.  

This publication is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice. Should you have any question please do not hesitate to contact Dayo Adu, Oluwapamilerin Adepoju and Ayotomiwa Okoka.

Footnotes 

1 Section 25 CFRN

2 Section 26 CFRN

3 Section 27 CFRN

4 https://ecitibiz.interior.gov.ng/citizenship/overview

5 Male citizen - same sex marriage is prohibited in Nigeria

6 Section 26 (2)(a) CFRN

7 Section 26 (2)(b) CFRN

8 Section 26 (1) CFRN

9 Section 29 CFRN

10 Any person above the age of 18 and any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.