Zambian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Zambia, as amended; the Citizenship of Zambia Act; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Zambia. 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. Commonwealth countries often use the terms nationality and citizenship as synonyms, despite their legal distinction and the fact that they are regulated by different governmental administrative bodies. Zambian nationality is typically obtained under the principals of jus soli, i.e. birth in Zambia, or jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to parents with Zambian 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 registration.
Acquiring Zambian nationality Nationality can be obtained in Zambia at birth or later in life through a registration process equivalent to naturalisation.
By birth Since 2016, provisions to acquire nationality in Zambia include both birth in the territory and by descent from a Zambian. Those who are eligible for nationality by birth include:
Persons born anywhere, including on board an aircraft of ship registered in Zambia or owned by the Zambian government, who have at least one parent who is, or was at the time of their birth, a national of Zambia; or Foundlings or orphans under the age of eight whose parents are unknown or whose nationality cannot be ascertained, upon receipt of a court order from the Children's Court Division of the High Court of Zambia.
By registration Registration can be granted to persons who have resided in Zambia for a sufficient period of time to confirm they understand the English or another language of Zambia, the customs and traditions of the country and the responsibilities of citizenship. It is a discretionary process, not an administrative one. General qualification is that the applicant is at least eighteen years old, can verify legal residency of a minimum of ten years, has not been convicted of a crime that carried a prison sentence, has not been bankrupt, and is not a prohibited immigrant. Besides foreigners meeting the criteria, those who can register include:
Adoptees may acquire Zambian nationality by registration, upon completion of the legal adoption process; The spouse of a Zambian national may register as Zambian after the marriage has endured for at least five years; Persons who were born in Zambia who have been ordinary residents in Zambia for at least five years; or Persons born abroad but who descend from a Zambian national after a five-year residency.
Loss of nationality Zambians are allowed to renounce their nationality, provided that they comply with registration processes. If the person has not acquired another nationality within six months, Zambian nationality will automatically be restored. Persons who committed fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment in a registration application may be denaturalised. Persons who were Zambian and previously lost their nationality may apply for repatriation by a process known as Citizenship for Bestowal, which requires detailed biographical information and about their loss of nationality.
Dual nationality Since 2016, Zambia has allowed dual nationality for most persons, though a simple registration process is required.
History Anthropologists have dated remains in the area spanning 30,000 to 100,000 years ago and attributed those inhabitants to be ancestors of Khoisan speakers and Pygmy peoples who reside in the territory today. From the fourth century, Bantu-speakers migrated into the area and engaged in trade. By the eleventh century, Arab and Indian traders participated in the exchange of goods along the Zambezi River. Between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, major migrations of people from the Congo Basin settled in the area. Though the Portuguese explorer António Fernandes visited the area in 1514, they did not establish settlements, but did become involved in trade. By the first part of the nineteenth century, the northern part of the region was dominated by Bemba Kingdom and the Lunda Confederation; the southeast was controlled by the Chewa Kingdom until they were displaced by invading Ngoni people mid-century; and the western part of the territory was governed in Barotseland by the Lozi Nation. These centralised polities, overpowered the earlier inhabitants and attempted to expand their territories. The south did not develop a centralised kingdom, but society was heavily influenced by Tonga tradition. The Kololo people, a subgroup of the Sotho-Tswana people of South Africa also migrated during the middle of the nineteenth century to the Barotseland area. Approximately seventy-two indigenous ethnic groups resided in the territory prior to colonisation. These groups were governed under tribal customs tied to the territories they controlled and their traditions.
In 1851, British missionary and explorer David Livingstone wrote about his travels through the Zambezi River basin, inspiring other missionaries to follow his path. Colonists and merchants hoping to open new markets for trade followed. These groups were met with resistance by the local inhabitants and the Portuguese traders. In 1884, British mining magnate Cecil Rhodes convinced Parliament to grant him a charter to develop the region and protect it from expansion of the Portuguese. Under the charter, for the British South Africa Company, Rhodes sent agents to secure agreements from local chiefs to cede mineral rights to the area in exchange for weapons. In 1889, Rhodes had secured agreements with the Lozi's king, Lewanika, in Barotziland and the northwestern part of the territory, which recognised his authority over his people. Despite the treaty being signed, the British South Africa Company did not assign an administrator to govern until the middle of 1895. In 1900, Rhodes secured agreements to protect North-Eastern Rhodesia. By virtue of the charter for the British South Africa Company Britain acquired extraterritorial jurisdiction over British subjects, but had no authority over the indigenous people in the territories operated by the company. The company would extend its control throughout the interior of the area until 1924.
British protectorates (1900–1958) By a 28 November 1899 Order in Council, effective in 1900, Britain created a formal protectorate over Barotziland and North-Western Rhodesia. In 1911, this protectorate, as well as North-Eastern Rhodesia, were combined into the single administrative unit called Northern Rhodesia, though North-Eastern Rhodesia was not an official British protectorate until 1923. In 1924, the territory under the control of the British South Africa Company was formally transferred to the Colonial Office. On 3 September 1953, the protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland were united with the Colony of Southern Rhodesia into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Though part of the federation, Northern Rhodesia remained a British protectorate, even after 1 March 1958, when the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyassaland gained independence.
In Britain, allegiance, in which subjects pledged to support a monarch, was the precursor to the modern concept of nationality. The crown recognised from 1350 that all persons born within the territories of the British Empire were subjects. Those born outside the realm — except children of those serving in an official post abroad, children of the monarch, and children born on a British ship — were considered by common law to be foreigners. Marriage did not affect the status of a subject of the realm, but under common law, single women, including divorcées, were not allowed to be parents thus their children could not derive nationality maternally and were stateless unless legitimated by their father. British Nationality Acts did not extend beyond the bounds of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, meaning that under Britain's rules of conquest, laws in place at the time of acquisition remained in place until changed. Other than common law, there was no standard statutory law which applied for subjects throughout the realm, meaning different jurisdictions created their own legislation for local conditions, which often conflicted with the laws in other jurisdictions in the empire. Thus, a person who was naturalised in Canada, for example, would be considered a foreigner, rather than a British national, in Australia or South Africa. When British protectorates were established in 1815, there was little difference between the rights of British subjects and protected persons.
British subjects living in the Northern Rhodesia Protectorate (1914–1958) In 1911, at the Imperial Conference a decision was made to draft a common nationality code for use across the empire. The British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 allowed local jurisdictions in the British self-governing territories to continue regulating nationality in their jurisdictions, but also established an imperial nationality scheme for use throughout the realm. Under its terms, common law provisions were reiterated for natural-born persons born within the realm on or after the effective date. By using the word person, the statute nullified legitimacy requirements for jus soli nationals, meaning an illegitimate child could derive nationality from its mother. For those born abroad on or after the effective date, legitimacy was still required, and nationality could only be derived by a child from a British father (one generation), who was natural-born or naturalised. It also provided that a married woman derived her nationality from her spouse, meaning if he was British, she was also, and if he was foreign, so was she. It stipulated that upon loss of nationality of a husband, a wife could declare that she wished to remain British. It allowed that if a marriage had terminated, through death or divorce, a British-born national who had lost her status through marriage could reacquire British nationality through naturalisation without meeting a residency requirement. The statute specified that a five-year residency or service to the crown was required for naturalisation.
Amendments to the British Nationality Act were enacted in 1918, 1922, 1933 and 1943 changing derivative nationality by descent and modifying slightly provisions for women to lose their nationality upon marriage. Because of a rise in statelessness, a woman who did not automatically acquire her husband's nationality upon marriage or upon his naturalisation in another country, did not lose her British status after 1933. The 1943 revision allowed a child born abroad at any time to be a British national by descent if the Secretary of State agreed to register the birth. Under the terms of the British Nationality Act 1948, British nationals in the Northern Rhodesia Protectorate were reclassified at that time as "Citizens of the UK and Colonies" (CUKC). The basic British nationality scheme did not change much, and typically those who were previously defined as British remained the same. Changes included that wives and children no longer automatically acquired the status of the husband or father, children who acquired nationality by descent no longer were required to make a retention declaration, and registrations for children born abroad were extended.
Indigenous persons (British Protected Persons) in the Northern Rhodesia Protectorate (1914–1958)