Dual Citizenship
Loss of Citizenship
14 (Guyana 17 Dec. 1998). An applicant must have resided in Guyana for a
period of twelve months immediately prior to making an application (ibid.,
Second Schedule Para. 1(a)), in addition to having resided in Guyana for five out
of the last seven preceding years before the twelve month period (ibid., Second
Schedule Para. 1(b)). The authorized Minister may allow certain exceptions
concerning specified residency requirements and time periods (ibid., Second
Schedule Sec. 2).
According to the website of the Consulate of Guyana in Canada, birth,
marriage and death certificates cost 30 Guyanese dollars and applications may be
obtained in Canada through the Consulate of Guyana, which will submit an
application directly to the Registrar General of Guyana for a fee of 10 Canadian
dollars (Guyana Oct. 2006a). This process can take six to twelve months;
therefore, the Consulate recommends sending the completed application to
a "relative or friend" in Guyana who can pick up the certificate within "a few
days" on behalf of the applicant (ibid.). The Consulate of Guyana in Canada
indicates that the required fees for registration of Guyanese citizenship are 200
Canadian dollars (Guyana Oct. 2006b).
Dual citizenship is not recognized unless the second citizenship is obtained
through marriage (US Mar. 2001, 89). The President may "by order" deprive an
individual of Guyanese citizenship if he or she acquires the citizenship of another
state in any other voluntary or formal manner (Guyana 20 Feb. 1980, Subs. 46
(1)), or if he or she exercises any exclusive rights granted to citizens of another
country which are voluntarily claimed and exercised in that other country (ibid.,
Subs. 46(2)).
On 23 May 2008, Guyana signed a treaty establishing membership in the
Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), a regional agreement which strives
to strengthen South American integration (Guyana 24 May 2008; Venezuela
Analysis 24 May 2008). Its objectives include,
The consolidation of a South American identity through the progressive
recognition of the rights of nationals of a Member State resident in any of the
other Member States, with the aim of attaining a South American citizenship.
(UNASUR 23 May 2008, Sec. 3(jj))
Member states include Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Suriname (Guyana 24 May
2008; Venezuela Analysis 24 May 2008; Kaieteur News 20 July 2008). On 20 July
2008, Kaieteur News, a Guyanese daily newspaper reported that Venezuela had
agreed to regularize 50,000 illegal Guyanese residents, and that "in all
likelihood", they would be granted both Guyanese and Venezuelan citizenship
(ibid.).
Citizenship may be revoked at the Minister's discretion if he or she is
satisfied that a certificate of naturalization or of registration was obtained
through fraudulent means or through the "concealment of any material fact"
(Guyana 17 Dec. 1998, Sec. 11(1)). A naturalized Guyanese citizen may be
deprived of citizenship if he or she has been sentenced in any country to a term