Ethiopian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Ethiopia, as amended; the Ethiopian Nationality Proclamation, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Ethiopia. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Ethiopian nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, born to parents with Ethiopian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
Acquisition of nationality Nationality can be acquired in Ethiopia at birth or later in life through naturalization.
By birth Those who acquire nationality at birth include:
Children born anywhere who have at least one parent who is an Ethiopian national; or Abandoned children or orphans discovered in the territory whose parents are unknown, but assumed to be Ethiopian.
By naturalization Naturalization can be granted to persons who have resided in the territory for a sufficient period of time to confirm they understand one of the languages used in Ethiopia, and the customs and traditions of the society. General provisions are that applicants have good character and conduct; have no criminal convictions; and can legally and economically be self-sufficient. Applicants must have resided in the country for four years and renounce other nationality. Besides foreigners meeting the criteria, other persons who may be naturalized include:
The spouse of an Ethiopian national after two years of marriage and a one-year residency period subsequent to the marriage; Adoptees whose parents are Ethiopian can choose to acquire nationality if the parents are residents in the territory; Minor children can be automatically naturalized when their parent acquires nationality; or Persons who have provided exceptional service to the nation may naturalize without other conditions.
Loss of nationality Ethiopian nationals can renounce their nationality pending approval by the state. The state does not allow persons who have not completed their military service or time for criminal prosecution to renounce their nationality. Nationals may be denaturalized in Ethiopia for acquiring dual nationality regardless of whether they are Ethiopian by origin or naturalized. Persons who previously had other nationality but wish to repatriate must renounce other nationality and establish a domicile in the country.
Dual nationality Dual nationality is not allowed in Ethiopia; however, provision of the law under Article 20 is that persons who have dual nationality are "considered solely an Ethiopian national until the loss of Ethiopian nationality". To facilitate members of the Ethiopian diaspora, persons who originally had Ethiopian nationality but now have foreign status may acquire a special identity card. Those who attained Eritrean nationality or renounced their Ethiopian nationality are not eligible. The card entitles them to benefits such as access to public services, entry without a visa, employment and residency rights, and the right to own real property. They are classified as "foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin".
History Ethiopian Empire (1270–1935) In 1270, Yekuno Amlak founded the Christian, Solomonic dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire. Under his successors, the empire expanded and came into conflict with Muslim sultanates in the region. Ethiopian emperors were dedicated increasing both the power of the state and adherence to Orthodox Christianity. One of the primary reasons for the imperial drive to spread its influence was to better control trade in the region. Subjects, in exchange for paying taxes, received the protection of the emperor and his administrators, as well as socio-economic mobility in the hierarchical structure of the society. In 1517, the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt and began an assault taking most of the Ethiopian territory along the Red Sea. Three years later at the request of the regent, Eleni of Ethiopia, a Portuguese mission arrived to establish an alliance and neutralize the Muslim expansion. For a century, the Portuguese and Ethiopian alliance fought together to preserve Ethiopian territory. In 1636, the capital was moved to Gondar and it was developed into a commercial center. An intense building and conquest phase followed, but by the eighteenth century, the empire was in decline.
During the Era of Princes from 1755 to 1855, twenty-eight sovereigns reigned over the empire. Regional rivalries and internal conflicts were characteristics of the period, but no serious attempts were made by the rivals to separate from the empire. The Tigray Region gained strength, but Shewa became the regional powerhouse in the nineteenth century. Commerce was important in attracting British and French traders to the area from the mid-1830s. The first three-quarters of the nineteenth century political disorder continued to disrupt economic development. Conflicts with Egypt and attempts at Muslim expansion into Ethiopian territory continued into the twentieth century. In 1886, Addis Ababa became the capital of Shewa and three years later in 1889, Menelik II was crowned emperor. That year, the Italians declared a protectorate over the coastline of the Red Sea and the following year proclaimed Eritrea as an Italian colony. The terms of the Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians used to insist their authority over Ethiopia, led to the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Defeat of the Italians led to the signing in 1896, of the Treaty of Addis Ababa, which recognized the sovereignty of Ethiopia.
Menelik II continued southern expansion of the empire and embarked upon a campaign of modernizing the administrative institutions of Ethiopia. He established a ministerial system of governance, but it would be up to his successor Haile Selassie to promulgate the first constitution of Ethiopia. In 1930, he promulgated a Nationality Law and the following year, the constitution came into force. Under the Ethiopian Nationality Law of 1930, in force at the time, Ethiopian subjecthood was acquired through descent from an Ethiopian parent. If legitimate or legitimized, children derived the nationality of their father. Illegitimate children could derive nationality maternally, if the father did not legitimate them. If an Ethiopian woman was legally married to a foreigner, her children could only derive her nationality by proving that they had no other nationality, as married Ethiopian women automatically lost their status and derived the husband's nationality if his country conferred nationality upon her. Foreign women who married Ethiopians, automatically acquired Ethiopian status. Naturalization could be obtained by legal adults after a five-year residency by persons who were self-supporting, were fluent in Amharic, and had no criminal record. It did not automatically apply to the wife of an applicant.
Italian period (1935–1941) Keen to expand its empire abroad, Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1935 and formally established the colony of Italian East Africa (), containing the territories of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia in 1936. Under the 1865 Civil Code, unity of the family was a driving foundation of the code, thus the emphasis was on descent. Nationality was derived paternally, regardless of where a child was born, unless the father was unknown. Foundlings born in the territory were presumed to have an Italian father and were granted nationality. Children born in Italy to foreigners who had lived in the territory for ten years, could acquire nationality at majority and those born in the territory to foreigners who did not meet the requisite residency could opt for Italian nationality at majority after service to the nation. Wives were required to follow the nationality of their husband. Italian women married to foreigners lost their Italian nationality and could only reacquire it if the marriage terminated and they established residence in Italy. Foreign women who married Italian men gained Italian nationality and retained it even after termination of the marriage. Nationality provisions were amended by Law 23 of 1901, which allowed children born in the territory or abroad who became foreigners because of a father's loss of nationality to acquire nationality without parliamentary intervention. Law no. 217 (known as Sonnino's Law), passed on 17 May 1906, allowed naturalization by royal decree if the Council of State supported the application and the applicant either resided in Italy or the colonies for six years, or had provided four years of service to the Italian state, or had been married to an Italian woman for three years.
Colonial subjecthood differed from that in the motherland. Persons born in or members of a tribe indigenous to the colony were Italian subjects but did not have the same civil rights as those born in Italy. If a colonial subject naturalized to attain civil rights, their status was intransmissible to other family members. Children born within a legal marriage between colonial subjects and metropolitan subjects automatically became Italian, though the majority of such unions were informal. Those children born outside of marriage, who were legitimated, or legally recognized and registered in official colonial birth records, were also automatically granted Italian nationality with full citizenship. Native women who married metropolitan Italians automatically acquired metropolitan status, but if a metropolitan woman married a native, she was able to retain her status, as it was deemed unlikely that she would be a dependent of a native man. In 1912, Italy introduced new nationality provisions (Law No. 555) to address Italians living outside of the motherland. It did not challenge the tenet of unity of nationality in the family for metropolitan nationals, and bestowed Italian nationality by descent from an Italian father. But, if the child was born abroad in a country that automatically granted its nationality through jus soli, Italian nationality could be renounced at majority. Adding this provision allowed Italy to perpetually recognize the nationality of emigrants and foster a sense of belonging to Italy, even if expatriates chose to no longer act as citizens. For foreigners, it reduced the general residency requirement to five years, or three years if in service to the state.
In 1933, an Italian statute formalized the practice of allowing illegitimate mixed-race children to choose metropolitan status upon reaching their majority. In 1936, Italy began a redefinition of subjecthood for Italian East Africa. The new statute retained the provision that a colonial subject was one not descended of a metropolitan Italian or national of any other state. It also continued the policy of attributing metropolitan nationality to legitimate or legitimated children of an Italian father. But, it eliminated provisions for mixed-race children to opt for metropolitan status at majority. Further, anti-miscegenation legislation passed in 1937 prohibited concubinage and another promulgated the following year banned formal marriages between metropolitan and native subjects. Mixed marriages became illegal and were punishable with a five year sentence upon conviction. Legislation passed in 1940 barred conferring metropolitan status on mixed-race, illegitimate, legitimate, legitimated children, or children of unknown parentage, unless they had reached age thirteen that year, had been raised as an Italian, and could confirm their good character.