Basotho nationality law is regulated by the
Constitution of Lesotho
The Constitution of Lesotho is the basic law governing the Kingdom of Lesotho. It provides the legal framework for the structure of the government and lays out the rights guaranteed to citizens. The Constitution was adopted in 1993. It aimed to d ...
, as amended; the Lesotho Citizenship Order, and its revisions; the 1983 Refugees
Act; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Lesotho. The legal means to acquire
nationality
Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture.
In international law, n ...
, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as
citizenship
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
. 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. In Britain and thus the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
, though the terms are often used synonymously outside of law, they are governed by different statutes and regulated by different authorities. Basotho nationality is typically obtained under the principle of
jus soli
''Jus soli'' ( or , ), meaning 'right of soil', is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contrast to ''jus sanguinis'' ('right of blood') ass ...
, born in Lesotho, or
jus sanguinis
( or , ), meaning 'right of blood', is a principle of nationality law by which nationality is determined or acquired by the nationality of one or both parents. Children at birth may be nationals of a particular state if either or both of thei ...
, i.e. by birth in Lesotho or abroad to parents with Basotho nationality. 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
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
.
Acquisition of nationality
Nationality can be acquired in Lesotho at birth or later in life through naturalision.
By birth
Those who acquire nationality at birth include:
* Children born in Lesotho to at least one parent who is Basotho, as long as the parents do not have
diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country. or are
enemy aliens
In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...
;
* Children born abroad to a Basotho national of origin; or
* Children who would otherwise be stateless.
By naturalision
Naturalisation
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
in Lesotho can be granted to persons who have resided in the territory for a sufficient period of time to confirm they understand
SeSotho
Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language.
Like all Ba ...
or
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and the customs and traditions of Lesotho. General provisions are that applicants have good character and conduct; are of legal
capacity
Capacity or capacities may refer to:
Mathematics, science, and engineering
* Capacity of a container, closely related to the volume of the container
* Capacity of a set, in Euclidean space, the total charge a set can hold while maintaining a giv ...
; and have adequate means of self-support. Applicants must typically have resided in the country for five years. Besides foreigners meeting the criteria, other persons who may be naturalised include:
* Children legally adopted by a Basotho parent, who at the time of completion of a legal adoption request nationality;
* The spouse of a Basotho national after five years of continuous cohabitation in Lesotho, who has taken an
oath of loyalty
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a nationality, subject or Citizenship, citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the co ...
;
* Minor children may automatically be registered when their parent acquires nationality;
* Refugees who have resided in the country for six years (five years cumulatively plus continuously the year preceding the application); or
* Persons from Commonwealth nations or those who are stateless, may naturalise with some conditions waived.
Loss of nationality
Basotho nationals can