Namibia

Ad hoc documentation for children of non-resident mothers

In Namibia, women determined not to be ‘ordinarily resident,’ namely Angolan women, are currently issued extra-legal foreigner birth certificates for their children by registrars, despite having no legal authority to do so. This is due to discriminatory fears of enfranchising those viewed as ‘other’. These documents leave the child with a ‘dead end document’ and without citizenship.

Promising Practices and Updates

In 2024, Namibia passed the Civil Registration and Identification Act, which entitles all children born to a birth certificate that identifies their citizenship. If it does not identify them as a Namibian citizen then the Registrar-General has 6 months to disprove the person’s qualification for Namibian citizenship, or else a certificate must be issued identifying the person as a Namibian citizen. One cannot be denied Namibian citizenship if they would be left stateless. This law has yet to come into effect as of May 2025.