Title

Bahrain: Law No. 12 of 1989 Amending the Citizenship Act of 1963

Date of adoption

Entry into force

Text versions

English

Source:

– Official Journal Issue No. 1859 (13 July 1989), pp. 3-4, Legislation & Legal Opinion Commission, Kingdom of Bahrain, accessed: 30 July 2014, http://www.legalaffairs.gov.bh/Media/LegalPDF/L1289.pdf

– Bahraini Citizenship Act (last amended 1981) [Bahrain],  16 September 1963, accessed 30 July 2014, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3fb9f34f4.html

Abstract

The texts of articles 4, 5, and 6(4) are all replaced.

In accordance with the new text of Art. 4, a person shall be deemed a Bahraini national in the following cases:

1. If he is born in Bahrain or abroad and his father, at the time of birth, was a Bahraini national.
2. If he is born in Bahrain or abroad and his mother, at the time of birth, was a Bahraini national, provided that his father was either unknown or he is not legally linked to his father.

A person shall be considered a Bahraini national if is born to unknown parents. An illegal child shall be considered as born in Bahrain, unless proven otherwise (Art. 5).

If a man is granted Bahraini citizenship in accordance with this article, his minor children shall become Bahrainis by naturalization and they shall have the right to choose their original nationality within one year of reaching maturity. Any children born to the man after naturalization shall be considered as Bahraini nationals.

The wife of a naturalized foreigner may also obtain citizenship if she declares her intention to do so to the Minister of Interior and she resides in Bahrain with her husband for five years thereafter. The Minister may waive this period or deny the woman citizenship during that time (Art. 6(4)).