KATHMANDU, JULY 23
The new citizenship bill passed by the House of Representatives last night will enable children of citizens by birth, children born to Nepali mothers whose fathers cannot be traced, children born to Nepali mothers from marriage with foreign citizens but domiciled in Nepal, and non-resident Nepalis, to obtain Nepali citizenship.
The new bill will also enable sexual and gender minorities to mention their gender identity as per their sexual orientation.
This bill will be a big relief for children of citizens by birth who have not been able to obtain their citizenship in the absence of a new federal citizenship law. The number of children of citizens by birth who were waiting to make their citizenship is estimated to be around 600,000-700,000.
Despite constitutional guarantee, children of citizens by birth have not been able to obtain Nepali citizenship by descent until now. The new bill also enables children born to Nepali mothers from marriage with foreign citizens in foreign countries to obtain naturalised citizenship as the bill amends Section 5 (2) of the original Act.
Section 5 (2) stipulates: A child born to a Nepali female citizen from marriage with a foreign citizen in Nepal and having permanent domicile in Nepal may be granted naturalised citizenship as prescribed, provided the child has not acquired the citizenship of the foreign country on the basis of the citizenship of his/her father. The new bill removes the word 'in Nepal' from this section.
The bill enables a child of a Nepali mother whose father is not traced, to obtain Nepali citizenship by descent if he/she is permanently domiciled in Nepal.
But if the father of the child is later found to be a foreign citizen, the child's citizenship of descent shall be cancelled and he/ she shall obtain naturalised citizenship.
The mother of a child of Nepali mother whose father is not traced shall have to submit an affidavit to secure citizenship for her child.
A child born to a Nepali mother from marriage with a foreign national shall obtain naturalised citizens if he/she is permanently domiciled in Nepal and if he/she has not obtained citizenship of a foreign country on the basis of his/her father's nationality.
The bill also enables Non-resident Nepalis whose parents or grandparents were once citizens of Nepal and subsequently acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than any SAARC member countries, to obtain NRN citizenship and they will enjoy economic, social and cultural rights. NRNs can obtain their citizenship from government authority.
The new bill enables the applicant to obtain citizenship using either his/her father or mother's name and addresses.
The bill states that records of both parents will have to be maintained.
The bill also ensures the rights of sexual and gender minorities to identify their identity on the basis of their sexual orientation.
This provision was not in the original bill, but Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand incorporated the provision after lawmakers raised the issue.
The bill also states that in case a family member refuses to identify the applicant, then the designated authority can conduct a public enquiry and issue citizenship to the applicant if two citizenship holders from his/her ward and one local authority identifies the applicant.
Human rights lawyer Mohan Kumar Karna said that although the bill was passed by the Lower House after much delay, it was a welcome step.
"Often, administrative hurdles constrain genuine but poor Nepalis from obtaining Nepali citizenship.
The government will have to be careful about removing such hurdles after the bill becomes a law," he added.
The new bill will become a law after it is passed by the National Assembly, the Upper House of the Parliament.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 24, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
