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Gambia: Whether a Sierra Leonan woman who is married to Gambia citizen could obtain Gambia citizenship. If yes, conditions of such acquisition, including documents required and the name of the office that delivers the citizenship document

In her 25 October 2001 letter to the Research Directorate, the Deputy Chief of Mission within the Embassy of the Gambia in Washington D.C. stated the following:

In accordance with the Citizenship and Nationality Act of the Laws of the Gambia, it must be made clear that, at the moment, there is no clause providing for dual citizenship, either for a Gambian born or an expatriate wishing to adopt Gambian Nationality.

A spouse of a Gambia National is required to reside in the Gambia for a continuous period of seven years at least before applying for Gambian citizenship.

Subsections (3) and (4) of part II Citizenship by Registration and Naturalization of the Gambian Nationality and Citizenship Act state that:

(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), any woman who is or has been married to a citizen of The Gambia may, on making application therefor to the Minister in the prescribed manner, be registered as a citizen of The Gambia whether or not she is of full age and capacity.

(4) A person shall not be registered as a citizen of The Gambia under this section unless and until he has taken an oath of allegiance in the forma specified in the First Schedule to this Act (Feb. 1965).

Citing the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Gambian Embassy in Washington, D.C., Immigration and Naturalization Service identified the Office of the President as the office that deals with citizenship matters (6 Oct. 2000).

No further information on the acquisition of citizenship for a woman married to a Gambian man could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Embassy of the Gambia, Washington D.C. 25 October 2001. Correspondence.

Gambia. February 1965. The Gambia Nationality and Citizenship Act, Cap 82. <http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/rsd/> [Accessed 17 Oct. 2001]

United States. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). 10 October 2001. "Gambia: Response to Information Request GMB01001.ZHN." <http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/services/asylum/ric/documentation/GMB01001.htm> [Accessed 17 Oct. 2001]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Database.

LEXIS/NEXIS.

Resource Centre country file. Gambia. 1997-2001.

Web sites, including:

Africa: Law.

Law Library of Congress.