CITIZENSHIP

President Donald Trump has  issued an executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship for babies of undocumented immigrants and for people with temporary status  in the U.S, in line with his hardline anti-migration stance. Of course, this has sparked intense legal and political debate based on the far-reaching consequences.

In the United States, the 14^th  Amendment to the constitution, guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, this is a legal principle called “Jus Soli” and can be interpreted as right of the soil.

Practically, what it has meant for persons is that, once a child is born of American soil, they can claim citizenship rights. So, for example, a Ghanaian mother can go to the United States, have her child there and by that, this child gets American citizenship with its rights, a phenomenon known as “birth tourism.”

Aside the United States, there are other countries that offer Jus Soli , these are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chad, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Lesotho, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

There are also other countries which offer Jus Soli with conditions, for example that the parents should not be diplomats or they grant citizenship to orphans. Scholars believe that many of these countries who offer Jus soli have some history behind. Some of these countries are in the Americas and it is believed that when the Americas were being formed, these were policies to make it easy for people to move to the Americas and become citizens.

The United States of America is believed to be in this position not only because of the historical “New World” policies but also due to civil rights issues and the like where for example African Americans did not have citizenship, and the grant of Jus Soli made it possible for them to enjoy citizenship.

There is as expected, an uproar about President Trump’s decision, but really the majority of the countries of this world practice Jus Sanguinis. This is simply citizenship by blood. This means that in order to be considered a citizen of a nation with its attendant rights, you must have the blood of a citizen flowing through you. In Ghana for example, one of your birth parents or grandparents should be a citizen.

Let us talk about citizenship in Ghana. Aside citizenship by blood, citizenship can also be acquired in other ways. Chapter 3 of the 1992 constitution  deals extensively with this.

Who is a Citizen of Ghana?

1. If you were already a citizen of Ghana before the coming into force of the 1992 constitution,  you are still a citizen.
2. If you are born in Ghana or another country after the 1992 constitution came into effect, you are a citizen if your parents or grandparents are Ghanaian.
3. A child of not more than 7 years found in Ghana with unknown parents is Ghanaian.
4. If a Ghanaian adopts a child (under 16 years old) whose parents are not Ghanaian, that child becomes a Ghanaian, please note the age is 16 and not 18

Can You Become a Citizen by Marriage?

1. If a woman marries a Ghanaian man or a man marries a Ghanaian woman, they can apply to become a citizen, please note , it is not automatic.
2. If the Ghanaian spouse dies, the foreign spouse can still apply.
3. If a woman becomes a citizen through marriage and later divorces, she will still be a citizen unless she chooses not to be.
4. A child of a woman who became a citizen by marriage is also a citizen unless they choose not to be.
5. If a man applies for citizenship by marriage, he must live in Ghana permanently(some say this is to stop the practice where foreign men married Ghanaian women in order to do business easily in Ghana).

Can Someone Lose Their Ghanaian Citizenship?

1. If someone becomes a Ghanaian by registration but keeps their other country’s citizenship, they must renounce the other one or risk losing Ghanaian citizenship.
2. If a Ghanaian loses citizenship because they took another country’s, they can get it back if they give up the foreign one.
3. If a Ghanaian loses citizenship because of marriage in another country, they can get it back if the marriage ends.
4. Initially a Ghanaian could not be a dual citizen per the 1992 constitution, but this was amended by the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act 527) which reversed the general prohibition of dual citizenship, with the caveat however, that such holders of dual citizenship were not allowed to occupy certain public offices
   which were enumerated within the said Act.
5. Then came the Citizenship Act 2000 (Act 591), which also provided a list of public offices which one could not attain if they were dual citizens. Aside public offices which were listed in the amendment of the constitution as stated above, the Citizenship Act added other public offices, which addition  has been declared unconstitutional by the supreme court .

In the case of  OSEI-BONSU VRS ATTORNEY GENERAL (J1/18/2023) [2024] GHASC 25 (24 April 2024) you can now be appointed to the following offices Chief Justice, Commissioner, Value Added Tax Service, Director General, Prisons Service, Chief Fire Officer, Chief Director of a Ministry and the rank of a Colonel in the Army or its equivalent in the other security services .

What a relief this must be to our fellow Ghanaians in the diaspora, who have “Japa’d” to wit gone to search for greener pastures, in the hopes of a better economic fortunes but who would wish to return one day to take up such positions.

1. It is important to note that a Ghanaian citizen who acquires another citizenship must notify the Minister in writing, following the prescribed form and procedure.

Other Important Things About Citizenship

1. Persons  applying for citizenship aside for marriage or other reasons indicated in chapter 3 of the constitution must be able to speak a Ghanaian language.
2. If someone got Ghanaian citizenship by fraud or bad behaviour, they can lose it.
3. If a child is born after a parent’s death, the parent’s last citizenship before dying is what counts.

A mouthful there, but now you know your rights as a citizen  or dual citizen. And well President Donald Trump’s policy against Birth right citizenship is being challenged by various lawsuits launched by Democratic-run states and cities, civil rights groups, and individuals. So, let us see how it goes…… but till then fellow Ghanaians enjoy your rights as a Ghanaian citizen, it means a lot.

 

References

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-birthright-citizenship

Encyclopædia Britannica

Constitution Of Ghana, 1992

Citizenship Act 2000(Act 591)

Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 1996 (Act 527)