Mauritius: Constitution
- Document source:
-
Date:
12 March 1968
Chapter III - CITIZENSHIP
20. Persons who became citizens on 12 March 1968
(1)Every person who, having been born in Mauritius, was on 11 March 1968 a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies became a citizen of Mauritius on 12 March 1968.(2)Every person who, on March 1968, was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies -
(a)having become such a citizen under the British Nationality Act 1948, by virtue of his having been naturalised by the Governor of the former Colony of Mauritius as a British subject before that Act came into force;
(b)having become such a citizen by virtue of his having been naturalised or registered by the Governor of the former Colony of Mauritius under that Act, became a citizen of Mauritius on 12 March 1968.
(3)Every person who, having been born outside Mauritius, was on 11 March 1968 a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, if his father became, or would but for his death have become, a citizen of Mauritius by virtue of subsection (1) or subsection (2), became a citizen of Mauritius on 12 March 1968.
(4)For the purposes of this section, a person shall be regarded as having been born in Mauritius if he was born in the territories which were comprised in the former Colony of Mauritius immediately before 8 November 1965 but were not so comprised immediately before 12 March 1968 unless his father was born in the territories which were comprised in the Colony of Seychelles immediately before 8 November 1965.
21. Persons entitled to be registered as citizens
(1)Any woman who, on 12 March 1968, was or had been married to a person -(a)who became a citizen of Mauritius by virtue of section 20; or
(b)who, having died before 12 March 1968 would, but for his death, have become a citizen of Mauritius by virtue of section 20,
shall be entitled, upon making application and, if she is a British protected person or an alien, upon taking the oath of allegiance, to be registered as a citizen of Mauritius: Provided that, in the case of any woman who, on 12 March 1968 was not a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, the right to be registered as a citizen of Mauritius under this section shall be subject to such exceptions or qualifications as may be prescribed in the interest of national security or public policy
(2)Any application for registration under this section shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed as respects that application.
22. Persons born in Mauritius after 11 March 1968
Every person born in Mauritius after 11 March 1968 shall become a citizen of Mauritius at the date of his birth: Provided that a person shall not become a citizen of Mauritius by virtue of this section if at the time of his birth -(a)his father possesses such immunity from suit and legal process as is accorded to an envoy of a foreign sovereign power accredited to Mauritius and neither of his parents is a citizen of Mauritius; or
(b)his father is an enemy alien and the birth occurs in a place then under occupation by the enemy.
23. Persons outside Mauritius after 11 March 1968
A person born outside Mauritius after 11 March 1968 shall become a citizen of Mauritius at the date of his birth if at that date his father is a citizen of Mauritius otherwise than by virtue of this section or section 20(3).24. Marriage to a citizen of Mauritius
Any woman who, after 11 March 1968, marries a person who is or becomes a citizen of Mauritius shall be entitled, upon making application in such manner as may be prescribed and, if she is a British protected person or an alien, upon taking the oath of allegiance, to be registered as a citizen of Mauritius: Provided that the right to be registered as a citizen of Mauritius under this section shall be subject to such exceptions or qualifications as may be prescribed in the interests of national security or public policy.25. Commonwealth citizens
(1)Every person who under this Constitution or any other law is a citizen of Mauritius or under any enactment for the time being in force in any country to which this section applies is a citizen of that country shall, by virtue of that citizenship, have the status of a Commonwealth citizen.(2)Every person who is a British subject without citizenship under the British National Act 1948, or continues to be a British subject under section 2 of that Act or is a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1965 shall, by virtue of that status, have the status of a Commonwealth citizen.
(3)Except as may be otherwise provided by Parliament, the countries to which this section applies are the United Kingdom and Colonies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria, Cyprus, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, Zambia, The Gambia, Singapore, Guyana, Lesotho, Botswana, Barbados and Southern Rhodesia.
26. Powers of Parliament
(1)Parliament may make provision -(a)for the acquisition of citizenship of Mauritius by persons who are not eligible or who are no longer eligible to become citizens of Mauritius by virtue of this Chapter;
(b)for depriving of his citizenship of Mauritius any person who is a citizen of Mauritius otherwise than by virtue of section 20, 22 or 23;
(c)for the renunciation by any person of his citizenship of Mauritius;
(d)for the maintenance of a register of citizens of Mauritius who are also citizens of other countries; or
(e)for depriving of his citizenship of Mauritius any citizen of Mauritius who has attained the age of 21 after 11 March 1968, and who, being a citizen of some other country, has not, within such period after his attainment of that age as may be prescribed, renounced his citizenship of that other country or, if the law of that other country does not permit him to renounce his citizenship of that other country, made such declaration as may be prescribed.
27. Interpretation
(1)In this Chapter, "British protected person" means a person who is a British protected person for the purposes of the British Nationality Act 1948.(2)Any reference in this Chapter to the father of a person shall, in relation to a person born out of wedlock, be construed as a reference to the mother of that person.
(3)For the purposes of this Chapter, a person born aboard a registered ship or aircraft, or aboard an unregistered ship or aircraft of the government of any country, shall be deemed to have been born in the place in which the ship or aircraft was registered, or as the case may be, in that country.
This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.