Bissau-Guinean nationality law

Bissau-Guinean Nationality Regulation
National Assembly of Guinea-Bissau
  • Regulamento da nacionalidade, Decreto Lei n.º 6/2011 de 23 de Fevereiro
Enacted byGovernment of Guinea-Bissau
Status: Current legislation

Bissau-Guinean nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Guinea-Bissau, as amended; the Bissau-Guinean Nationality Regulation, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Guinea-Bissau. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Bissau-Guinean nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Guinea-Bissau, or jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Guinea-Bissau or abroad to parents with Bissau-Guinean nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.