| Lesotho Citizenship Order | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Lesotho | |
| |
| Enacted by | Government of Lesotho |
| Status: Amended | |
Basotho nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Lesotho, as amended; the Lesotho Citizenship Order, and its revisions; the 1983 Refugees Act; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory.[1] These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Lesotho.[2] 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.[3][4] In Britain and thus the Commonwealth of Nations, though the terms are often used synonymously outside of law, they are governed by different statutes and regulated by different authorities.[3] Basotho nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, born in Lesotho, or jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Lesotho or abroad to parents with Basotho nationality.[5] 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 naturalisation.[2]
- ^ Manby 2016, pp. 32–34, 36, 131, 135.
- ^ a b Manby 2016, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b Fransman 2011, p. 4.
- ^ Rosas 1994, p. 34.
- ^ Manby 2016, p. 48.