The topic "how to obtain Somali citizenship" is extremely irrelevant at the moment. This is evidenced by the Internet pages, browsing which, the interested person can not find any useful information. This is due to the difficult political situation, the civil war that has been going on for a number of years, as well as the activity of local pirates, who have declared themselves quite loudly.
Attempts by the local electorate to restore order, assistance from the UN and other international peacekeeping organizations led to the adoption of the Constitution in August 2012 at a meeting of the Constitutional Assembly, which was held in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. It was immediately identified as temporary, created for the transition period. At the same assembly, for the first time in many years since the beginning of the civil war, the Federal Government was formed. It became the first government in the country recognized by many states of the world. Let's turn to the interim Constitution, in particular, to those of its provisions that relate to issues of citizenship.
How can you get Somali citizenship?
The Interim Constitution of the Republic of Somalia fixes important, fundamental points concerning politics, economy, religion, nationality, culture. The fact that it is temporary in nature is evidenced by many provisions prescribed in it, but requiring the adoption of separate laws, other normative legal acts, as is done in most of the civilized states of the planet.
Certain articles of the Constitution are devoted to issues of citizenship, for example, Article 8, which is called "People and Citizenship". This article clearly states that the institution of dual citizenship does not work on the territory of the country. All its residents must have only one citizenship, either Somalia or another state. The representatives of the People's Chamber of the Parliament of the Republic are charged with the preparation of a special law on citizenship. In accordance with this regulatory legal act, all issues of obtaining citizenship of the Republic of Somalia, deprivation or termination of citizenship will be regulated. On the other hand, a Somali who has moved to any state on the planet and acquired a new citizenship, according to the constitution, will not lose his rights as a citizen of Somalia.
Section 2 of Part 1 of the Interim Constitution of Somalia describes the general principles of human rights, among them the following can be noted: human dignity; equality.
Particularly interesting for potential applicants for Somali citizenship is Article 11 Equality. Based on it, we can say that any foreign citizen, having gone through the bureaucratic procedures for obtaining citizenship in this country and having received the coveted passport, receives along with it all the rights that the indigenous people have. Unlike many countries in the world where a passport issued to a foreigner has some restrictions, for example, participation in presidential elections (and on the one and the other), in Somalia, a new citizen is equal in rights with persons who received citizenship by birth. Although, it is clear that these are only theoretical calculations, no one knows yet how this article will be implemented in practice. Until the moment when the law on citizenship of the Republic of Somalia is passed, it is difficult to make any predictions.
The right to participate in elections is also fixed in Article 22 of the Interim Constitution, which states that a citizen has the following rights: to create political parties; participate in the activities of parties; to be chosen and to choose.
Another article of this important document notes the child's right to obtain Somali citizenship by birth, which means that any newborn who sees the light on the territory of the country can be considered a citizen of Somalia.
Of course, the holder of a passport of a citizen of the Somali Republic is required to fulfill certain duties. Among them there are those that can be found in many major legislative acts of the states of the planet, for example, upholding the rule of law or respecting and protecting the constitution. Other provisions are likely to bring a smile, such as the duty to do useful work for the common good and well-being of the community in which the person lives, the duty to be a bona fide taxpayer.
In summing up, I would like to note that progress is obvious, the Republic of Somalia is trying to find a way out of the political crisis, to come to unity on important issues of determining the further path of the country's development. It is hoped that with the adoption of the law on citizenship, the state will make a significant step forward, will give an opportunity to see some advantages of immigration here.
