Jamaican nationality law

Jamaican Nationality Act
Parliament of Jamaica
  • An act to provide for;acquisition, deprivation and renunciation of citizenship of Jamaica and for purposes incidental to or connected with the matters aforesaid
Enacted byGovernment of Jamaica
Status: Current legislation

Jamaican nationality law is regulated by the 1962 Constitution of Jamaica, as amended; the Nationality Act of 1962, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws.[1][2] These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Jamaica. Jamaican nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Jamaica; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Jamaican nationality. It can also 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 naturalisation.[3] There is not currently a program in Jamaica for persons to acquire nationality through investment in the country.[4] Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation.[5] Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.[6]

  1. ^ Fransman 2011, p. 1030.
  2. ^ Belton 2020, p. 1.
  3. ^ Belton 2020, pp. 2–3, 5.
  4. ^ Belton 2020, pp. 20–21.
  5. ^ Fransman 2011, p. 3.
  6. ^ Fransman 2011, p. 4.