Mauritius Citizenship Act | |
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Mauritian National Assembly | |
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Enacted by | Government of Mauritius |
Status: Current legislation |
Mauritian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Mauritius, as amended; the Mauritius Citizenship Act, and its revisions; 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 Mauritius.[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] Mauritian nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Mauritius or abroad to parents with Mauritian 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]