Pakistan

Dual Citizenship Pakistan

Restricted

The Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 lays down the terms for the granting of Pakistani citizenship. Persons whose parents or grandparents were born in the territories now included in Pakistan before the commencement of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 are citizens of Pakistan by birth. Any person born in Pakistan after the commencement of the Pakistan Citizenship Act in 1951 is also a citizen of Pakistan, with exceptions.

Children born to Pakistani parents shall be citizens of Pakistan by descent. If the parent of such a child is a citizen by descent himself/herself, the child is required to be registered in the nearest consulate or Pakistani mission. Children born to a Pakistani mother and foreign national father, after 18 April 2000, are treated as citizens of Pakistan.

Individuals who migrated to Pakistan from the territories in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent before the commencement of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 are declared citizens of Pakistan.

Citizenship may also be acquired in certain instances including: foreign women married to Pakistani nationals; Commonwealth citizens who Transfer Rs.5 Million worth of Foreign Exchange; persons holding a Naturalisation Certificate issued under the Naturalisation Act, 1926; and minor children (below 21 years of age) of a Pakistan citizen.

The Government of Pakistan has dual nationality arrangements with the following 19 countries: United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, United States of America, Sweden, Netherland, Ireland, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The nationals of these countries are not required to renounce their nationality while acquiring Pakistani Citizenship.

However, Pakistani citizens residing outside the country, who are not minors and who hold citizenship of another country, are required to renounce their Pakistani citizenship. Children born abroad may retain their dual citizenship till they reach the age of 21, upon which they must renounce the foreign citizenship, or their Pakistani one will be revoked.