Rwandan nationality law

Rwandan nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Rwanda, as amended; the Nationality Code of Rwanda (French: Code de la nationalité rwandaise), and its revisions; the Law of Persons and Family; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Rwanda. 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. In law, the terms are distinct and they are regulated by different governmental administrative bodies. Rwandan nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Rwanda or abroad to parents with Rwandan 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.