Government has revealed that it will not take in applications for dual citizenship until the Immigrations and Citizenship Act are amended.
Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Dr Chileshe Mulenga told Journalists that those applying for dual citizenship will have to wait a little longer until Parliament amends the said laws.
Dr Mulenga explained that the new constitutional provision allowing dual citizenship is impotent as long as subsidiary laws remain unchanged.
He stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Zambian missions abroad has received numerous applications for dual citizenship which cannot be processed at the moment.
“Yes we have been receiving applications through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a number of queries from Zambians living in Zambia who want to take up dual citizenship, mostly these are Zambians who have been working abroad and have taken up other citizenships but want to reclaim their birth right as Zambians,” Dr Mulenga said.
Dr Mulenga who could not disclose when the amendments to the Immigrations and Citizenship Act would be made appealed for patience from Zambians wishing to take up dual citizenship as the paper work has already started to operationalise the new law.
The amended Zambian constitution provides for dual citizenship enabling Zambians to hold two passports of two different countries.
Nothing surprising there. Edgar Lungu has such an incompetent team. They do not know if they are moving forward, backwards or sideways.
Pa Zed, WHY DO WE SEND PEOPLE TO UNIVERSITY, when they still exhibit thinking & mentality as if they emerged from living in caves yesterday??????
Ba PS, have you even consulted the Attorney General’s office concerning what Dual Citizenship means???? NO COUNTRY HAS AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DUAL NATIONALITY – it is simple ENGLISH!!!
You can ONLY TOLERATE A SECOND CITIZENSHIP – YOU CAN’T ISSUE DUAL imwe ba chifita!!!
Vote wisely 11/8/2016!! Vote for a Govt that THINKS & HAS OFFICERS INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO DO THEIR WORK – & NOT CHANT PamaFI Slogans!!!
Vote UPND!! VOTE ZAMBIA FORWARD!!
#chagwamustfall!! Pamafikuyabebele!!
I thank you!!
To those concerned what he is saying is don’t worry Dual Citizenship will be effected soon.
Is it not the UPND who are the ones that wanted to block the dual citizenship bill before it was passed into Law so why are you UPND mangwams complaining eh??? Only PF can deliver the true wishes of the Zambians in giving dual nationality. Abena Larry Mweetwa (wanzelu) you scoundrel that has been crying for dual citizenship yet insulting the only govt that feels those in the diaspora should be granted this, learn to be gracious.
2016 ECL nafuti
Everything is done without looking at the implications or considering the many other issues to be addressed. It is true people cant wait for 11.08.2016. We cant continue like this.
Who needs it anyway… would not risk my life in a failed country
Well, don’t worry folks to the ineptness of visionless PF.
Once UPND takes over leadership, all PFs ineptness of their failed inconsistencies will be history after 11~8. Load shedding, violence, poor agriculture, health & the economic crisis under PF, shall be of the past.
Why did Lungu sign the amendment bill in the first place? Visionless PF voted for the amended constitution despite its many parallels.
A normal person will vote for UPND & HH Forward, NOT visionless PF were they are 206 skeletal steps backwards & nothing else. Vote wisely on 11~8.
Meanwhile tomorrow parley is dissolved, watch the disintegration of visionless PF.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
As long as it is law, dual citizenship is automatic for some who will get other citizenship after the law was passed by parliament. What are these so called ministers without G12 certificate telling us. I am getting one and that will be automatic.
I’m not a lawyer, so excuse my ignorance. But isn’t the Constitution the supreme law of the land? It seems to me that the Constitution is going to bend to the Immigration Act, instead of the Immigration Act bending to the Constitution!!!!!
How come the Grade 12 certificate clause is already enforced but the Immigrations and Citizenship Acts are still awaiting amendment, and yet the President had signed these laws at the same time? It appears as if the Grade 12 certificate clause is a political tool that’s why it was swiftly put into operation.
IFINTU ni “LUNGU la”, NO DUAL CITIZENSHIP, this chap thinks he is a King, koma ni chi chakolwa chamukomboni!!
THIS IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IT SEEMS WHERE SOMEONE HAS TO APPLY FOR DUAL CITIZENSHIP – ba chifita, this is what happens when you don’t understand ifya basungu!! YOU SIMPLE OBTAIN A SECOND CITIZENSHIP AS LONG AS IT IS ALLOWED BY EITHER COUNTRY – YOU DON’T , DO NOT APPLY FOR IT!!!
Most of western nations INFACT NEVER ASK YOU TO DISCARD YOU INITIAL CITIZENSHIP, so Zedians who gave up their citizenship – i.e. declared so & sent back their passports, SHOULD ONLY BE APPLYING FOR ZEDIAN CITIZENSHIP – THE Zambian GOVT HAS NO, again NO AUTHORITY TO ISSUE YOU DUAL CITIZENSHIP, they CAN ONLY TOLERATE A SECOND CITIZENSHIP!!!
Vote Zambia FORWARD!! VOTE WISELY 11/8//2016!! Vote…
Vote Zambia FORWARD!! VOTE WISELY 11/8//2016!! Vote UPND!!
#chagwamustfall!! PamaFikuyabebele!!
I thank you!!
I agree. Where do you apply for dual citizenship? All you need is to apply for is a Zambian passport or of the other countries for which you are a citizen.
Although there is a way around this, anyway. With permanent residence in the second country Zambians can enter the country and leave to the second country on that basis. In Europe and the USA passports are not normally stamped on departure or arrival. The Zambian immigration would have no clue that the individual used their other passport to enter and leave the second country.
AFRICA, that’s all one can say. And the person who said this is a Doctor. The constitution is the supreme law of the land. It supersedes all laws and therefore there is no need to wait until those subordinate laws are changed.
Yes change the Laws and many more, what are you waiting for and what is that poor soul dressed in blue doing behind your ass? Zambians you never stop to amuse me and it looks like, you will never learn. Times have moved on yet, you still have and held on to colonial type mentally where kapasos were relevant. If the Police are there for “security” reasons why then do you have kapasos? This is really some hangover….
Lungu as min of justice had one minding him all the time, I remember seeing him being accompanying him as we flew to Ndola!! Am sure he still maintains a few like Chela & Kaizer!!
Vote Zambia FORWARD!! Vote wisely 11/8/2016!! Vote UPND!!
#chagwamustfall!! PamaFikuyabebele!!
I thank you!!
So they were fooling us in diaspora, some people were posting pages and pages of this on Facebook everyday only to realize we were duped. Nobody talked about amending the immigration act so they were feeding us half baked information.
Kikikiki, it would be funny if it was not so sad. @Katondo boys, tell them!
Zambia is full of unfortunate cliches. So now the parliament of the republic of Zambia will be responsible for offering the citizenship of ANOTHER state on the planet? What a useless bunch of clueless non-Grade 12 performers we have spawned. Icalo ubusuma casendwa na ba kabwa.
@Katondo boys, you have put quite an emphasis on ba chifita, are you a chibuta? And your less than dignified comments and unchecked grammar are worth a review; by you.
I noticed my mistakes – couldn’t be bothered!!
Am a Chifita too but I use my brains – why are you hurt??? Who talked about ukubuta – sort out your inferiority complex in your head!! Chifita in this context, is someone who has gone to school but ACTS & BEHAVES as if they never inhabited the four walls!!
Vote Zambia FORWARD!! Vote wisely11/8/2016!!
#pamaikuyabebele!!
I thank you!!
Thanks @Katondo Boys. Your comments are well appreciated, completely spot on. I don’t know nor care what a chifita is but that sounds good enough for the dimwits running Zambia. That’s why
#ChagwaMustFall
Never mind the apparent incompetence of the spokes person for the government on this occassion what about that of the so called learned people allegedly applying for dual citizenship? The provisions in any statute that criminalise carrying two passports are now unconstitutional the constitution supercedes them.
This truly laughable…these empty tins do not even have a timeline when they will amending law…he is not ashamed to state it; what have they been doing in Parliament…we have too many dull MPs who think National Assembly is a place to meet up then go to Parliament Motel with their girlfriends.
@fake katondo boys why are you using the real katondo boys username? You UPND chaps are so insecure and full of lies like the Lucifer you follow that you can’t even be honest and take up your own username? We all know the REAL Katondo boys is on break and will be with Team PF once campaigning begins..
Hopeless, useless, spineless, cowardly, cretins you and your fellow HH ass-lickers are..
#HungryHyena(HH)MustFallForThe5thTime
2016 ECL nafuti
@2020vision I think you are very correct to say this ‘Katondo boys’ is a fake one. His English is not up to the standard and you can hardly make out what he is saying while the original ‘Katondo boys’ is a vibrant person.
Iwe twente twente finshi ule bosa???
Yes katondo boys aka Emmanuel Mwamba has taken leave after being told off by Chagwa that if one wants to be in active politics, they must relinquish their civil service status
This Dr is dull which is supreme law the constitution or the citizenship act? Dual citizenship became effective the day ECL accented to the amended constitution so ba PS please prepare a cab memo and send the same to cabinet for parliament to do the needful unless of course you want to appear before he constitutional court!
Forgive him. He knows not what he is doing.
I wonder where his doctorate is from..It only takes one to challenge him in constitution court…why are they talking about G12 and spending certificates for verification because it was amended in the constitution immediately the President signed it.
Why is it that there are so many characters emerging time and again with dubious ‘Doctorates’ mostly from the same tribe. Where is their university located?
People the level of incompetent in Zambia has reached an arlaming level,we need to kick out pfools and their disorganised leader he should be sent back to the shambles of Chawama bars because thats where he belong. Clueless,visionless,heartless,brainless,hopeless,ruthless,useless,dullness and a drunkard is should not be allowed to inherit the doors of plot one.
Our learned friends at law on this forum could you please enlighten me as to where I stand with this going by the PS’s statement.
I got my Chinese citizenship a few years ago and was never asked to renounce my Zambian citizenship so I still have my valid Zed passport.
If I fly out of China using my Chinese passport will I be allowed to enter Zambia using the Zambian passport?
Use your common sense…. who in Zambia will ask you for your Chinese passport unless suddenly you look Chinese
This ***** Chikopo!
Zambia’s parliament desolves and he might not have a job when the next government if formed. People without grade 12 certificates in this government can easily be spotted like this one, they don’t think but just bark. Does he even know the economic value of the Zambia diaspora? Anyway, my Zambian people, VOTE WISELY!!!
Dr Mulenga the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. When it was amended to include dual citizenship the Immigration and Citizenship Act was implicitly amended and it cannot at all be superior to the Constitution. Who advises you guys kanshi?
Hardly surprising. No plan as usual.
A picture speaks a thousand words, and one look at above picture says it all. Look at the visible state of health of the poor ‘kapaso’, in relation to the three.
And the uniform must have been designed by the last colonial Prime Minister of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Sir Royal Wesenky himself. Why do we still need Kapasos other than to elevate PS’s ego and presumed status?
So, why do people standing for office need the noised about Grade 12 Certificate, why should a winning Presidential candidate require 50% votes plus 1?
Have the empowering sublaws been amended already?
Someone should update the embassies so they stop giving wrong information
Update them on what…this clown should have consulted Justice and Foreign dept before making silly utterances…how can we be paying these tins for being incompetent.
PF WILL WIN the general elections in August. President Lungu has worked had to advance and grow projects that Pres. Sata initiated. Apart from what Dr. Kaunda did in the early years of his term of office, NO other Zambian President has done more for Zambia than Lungu. Zambians can now dream about duo citizenship or what ever you want to call it, the legal system has been modified, Zambia is much more accessible by road, building, mining, farming and even aviation industries are on the go. The women Agenda is being aggressively advanced by mama Wina and after August 2016, those advancing corruption, crime and silly propaganda will start to feel the weight. Watch this space!! And you say UPND??? No!!! batili!! PF will win and win they will mwebantu! If one or 2 items were overlooked about…
@joseph
LOL – Are we reading the same article? You’ve gone off tangent. Your failure to comment why PS has no plan up to now, to bring into effect Dual citizenship says a lot in itself, wouldn’t you agree?.
Completely off topic.
Ba Dr Mulenga please, twapapata, this is too disappointing to come from you. How can a subsidiary law make the supreme law impotent? May you don’t understand ba Doc’ subsidiary means branch, so are you telling the nation that a tree depends on the branches. I remember in grade 5 I learnt that the branches get food from the ground through the trunk(main tree or supreme tree). Don’t disturb people for no apparent reason. Let those who want to apply be free to do so. Infact those who want, just go ahead and apply for a Zambian passport or the other countries passport.
Dominion,
It’s that simple. I know many Zambians with a Zambian and a second passport of their adopted countries and because they have permanent residence visas they can enter and exit Zambia with the Zambian passport. The European countries don’t stamp passports so that the Zambian Immigration have no way of knowing where you came from.
And this doctor is misleading people because he is not competent to interpret the Zambian constitution. Only the Constitutional Court is competent to do so.
The new contitution allows dual citizenship just like the old one did. Chiluba’s MMD wanted to pass the law on dual citizenship so that KK could not stand for presidency, but this turned things round for all Zambians. Especially for Zambian men and women married to non-Zambians
@Chilankalipa
Constitution is the passport or master key to any branch of the law either PRIVATE LAW (tort, contract, succession, employment, property, family, labour, commercial) or PUBLIC LAW ( administrative, criminal constitutional, laws). All existing laws have to be aligned to the new Constitution & none existent laws may be enacted in conformity with Constitution.
Isn’t Parliament the highest law making institution in the land? If Yes then the question is, which one supercedes the other? In this case then it’s the Immigration Act or the clause in the immigration act that has become impotent or obsolete and not the other way round. Please find and a constitutional lawyer to educate you before mouthing off!
You are right Parliament is the highest law making institution in the land & in theory enacts both the Constitution & Acts of Parliament including Bye Laws. You are also right that the Immigration Act has become impotent or obsolete. However, its only the courts which can declare that immigration act has become impotent or obsolete through legal process which is expensive. The cheaper option is just to amend or appeal the existing laws to align them to the New Constitution.
The statement by the PS is a wake up call for to all Zambians. The New Constitution is just an enabling registration to amend or enact new laws in our interest in alignment with it. We always assume that its business as usual like in 70s Zambia 10 vs Nigeria 0. The challenge now is for citizens to open their eyes, travel around, reasonably compare with other nationalities & demand for amendment or enactment of new laws to seal gaps otherwise the constitution will remain underutilised or unutilised which is time & money wasted.
For now GRZ is happy with the existing laws in place but its citizens who are aggrieved & should identify their needs. The Constitution or Bill of Rights alone can’t work for citizens even civil servants & parastatal organs operations if majority of PRIVATE LAW (tort, contract, succession, employment, property, family, labour, commercial) or PUBLIC LAW ( administrative, criminal constitutional, laws) still remain the way they are now.
@True Zambian so what are you saying exactly? That a person can be penalised for having dual nationality?
If one has dual citizenship, Zed govt has nothing to do with that. But to accept applications and process them for those applying for Zed passports without denouncing the other citizenship they can’t do that because its ultra vires by Immigration Act since it still requires the denouncing of one’s former nationality first. Like for those who work with computers if your password is changed to the computer you have to use the new password before you can gain access. Before Immigration staff can work, they have to be given access by Immigration Act. The Constitution is general or summary law & can’t be used by specific individual operational depts / ministries. The Police will use the Police Act, POA, RTSA their Act, ZESCO theirs, ZAF theirs, ECZ theirs, etc. ECZ may have amended their…
ECZ may have amended their Act or the G12 requirement already existed or have passed Statutory Instrument for them to enforce it.
Folks you need to understand that those Zambians who have obtained legally other (international)passports can travel to Zambia without being questioned,but those who may may want to apply for Zambian passport has to be subjected to the immigration controls.For example I have a British passport as a Zambian I can use it any passport along side with my Zambisn passport I will not break the law.But my son who has only a British passport will be subjected to immigration controls for him to qualify and apply for a Zambisn passport the immigration act has to be amended.Having two passport legally is not a criminal offence.Before the amendment of the constitution is was criminal.You can not claim to be a Zambian when you are carting a British passport.But now you can do so and show your…
So how is Tasila Lungu an American standing as a councilor if dual citizenship law hasn’t gone through?
Nothing shocks me with these jokers!!!
The PS in question is an accomplished university researcher who has taught widely within and outside the country. He knows what he is talking about.
There are instances where you have to amend subsidiary legislation to match the ‘dictates’ of the supreme law. For example, because Zambia did not allow one to hold more than one citizenship before, the citizenship board had to follow the citizenship act to apply the Constitutional provisions on the ground
As of now, some people gave up their Zambian citizenship a long time ago. Others were born of Zambian parents but hold foreign passports. The Citizenship Act, in its current form requires among other things, for you to be given citizenship, that; a)you need to have been resident in Zambia for at least 10 years b)If you had other citizenship, you renounced it c)You intend to make Zambia your home when you are granted the citizenship.
This has to be changed as these requirements…
….. do not tally with the new Constitutional clause
I thought the constitution was the supreme law. Anything inconsistent with it is null and void to the level of inconsistent?
I’m a foreigner from Canada who is married to a Zambian woman for the last five years (got married in Lusaka), and there is a clause which allows me to be a citizen. I’m very interested in getting dual citizenship for the sake of my daughter and stepchildren. So it’s not just Zambians who want this. I’m adopting Zambia, not withstanding the politics. ?