Date of publication:

01/08/2026

United Republic of Tanzania (the)

Do domestic laws and policies provide refugees and stateless persons access to naturalization?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Stateless persons
Analysis

The primary legislation governing citizenship in Tanzania is the Tanzania Citizenship Act of 1995. This Act outlines the criteria and procedures for acquiring citizenship through birth, descent, and naturalization. While the Act stipulates that any child born within the borders of Tanzania on or after Union Day (April 26, 1964) is granted citizenship, exceptions exist for children whose fathers have diplomatic immunity or whose parents are enemy aliens during a time of occupation. In practice, this jus soli provision is not automatically applied; children born to foreign parents, including refugees, are often not recognized as citizens unless at least one parent is Tanzanian. 

For refugees seeking naturalization, the process involves stringent requirements, including a significant residency period, proficiency in Kiswahili or English, and evidence of contribution to the country's development. Additionally, Tanzania prohibits dual citizenship for adults, necessitating applicants to renounce their previous nationality. Historically, Tanzania has undertaken mass naturalization initiatives, notably in 2010 when over 162,000 Burundian refugees who had arrived in 1972 were granted citizenship. ​ 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    Tanzania Citizenship Act

    Legal provision

    Section 9.3 - Naturalization of non-citizens

    A person shall not be naturalized as a citizen of the United Republic under this section except after he has made a declaration in writing in the prescribed form renouncing, or indicating his willingness, before the legal restrictions, to renounce, any other nationality or citizenship he may possess and any claim to the protection of any other country, and taken an oath of allegiance in the form specified in the First Schedule to this Act.

    Section 10.1 - Naturalization of minors

    The Minister may cause the minor child of any citizen of the United Republic to be naturalized as a citizen of the United Republic upon application made in the prescribed manner by a parent or guardian of the child.

    Section 5.1 - Persons born in the United Republic on or after Union Day

    Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), every person born in the United Republic on or after Union Day shall be deemed to have become and to have continued to be a citizen of the United Republic with effect from the date of his birth, and with effect from the commencement of this Act shall become and continue to be a citizen of the United Republic, subject to the provisions of section 30.

    Section 11.1 - Naturalization of women married to citizens of the United Republic

    Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) and of section 6, a woman who is married to a citizen of the United Republic shall at any time during the lifetime of the husband be entitled, upon making an application in the prescribed form, to be naturalized as a citizen of the United Republic.

    Section 9.1 - Naturalization of non-citizens

    Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), any person who is not a citizen of the United Republic may, being a person of full age and capacity, on making an application in that behalf to the Minister, and on satisfying the provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act, be naturalized as a citizen of the United Republic, and be granted a certificate of naturalization.