New bill proposes citizenship for individuals with unknown father’s identity

Kathmandu, January 29 — The government has registered a bill to amend the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006.

The bill was submitted by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak on Tuesday. According to the draft of the bill, it proposes that individuals whose father’s identity is unknown may obtain citizenship by declaration as descendants.

The draft bill specifies that even if a person’s birth certificate or educational qualification certificate includes the father’s name, but the identity of the father is not established, and the individual declares that they are unable to contact their father, such a person will be considered without a known father’s identity. They will be eligible to acquire Nepali citizenship through the descendant provision.

The bill also proposes that individuals born abroad to Nepali mothers, but residing in Nepal, will be eligible for naturalized citizenship. However, for this, they must not have foreign citizenship or a foreign passport, and they must declare that their father’s identity is unknown.

Addressing the legal context of the bill, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak explained that the amendment was necessary to implement court orders related to citizenship issues.

He noted that the bill was introduced to ensure the implementation of decisions from the Supreme Court and other courts, and to grant citizenship to those who are eligible, in line with the existing laws and court directives.

The bill was introduced in the Federal Parliament to amend the Citizenship Act, 2006, and ensure that the constitutional orders from various judicial bodies, including the Supreme Court, are fully executed.