Papua New Guinean citizenship can be lost without anyone deciding to take it away. Section 70 of the Constitution operates automatically on the doing of certain acts.
Section 70(1) — the seven acts
Subject to section 64, a citizen who has reached voting age and is of full capacity loses their citizenship if they:
- (a) obtain the nationality or citizenship of another country by a voluntary act (other than marriage);
- (b) exercise a right that is exclusive to nationals or citizens of another country — unless the Minister is satisfied the right was exercised inadvertently;
- (c) take an oath or make a declaration or affirmation of allegiance to another country or its Sovereign or Head of State;
- (d) do, agree to or adopt any act (other than marriage) by which they become a national or citizen of another country;
- (e) enter or serve in the armed forces of another country, except with the express approval of the Head of State acting with, and in accordance with, the advice of the National Executive Council;
- (f) except as permitted by an Act, vote in a national, provincial, state or local election, or accept elective office, of another country; or
- (g) subject to section 70(3), travel under the protection of a passport of another country in which they are described as a citizen or national of that country.
Voting in another country’s election, or travelling on that country’s passport, can end PNG citizenship — even where the person had no intention of giving anything up. If you hold or may hold another nationality, take advice before voting abroad or using a foreign passport.
Section 70(3) — passport exceptions
Paragraph (g) does not apply to:
- (a) a person absent from the country on Independence Day who continues to travel on another country’s passport — but only until the expiry of that passport’s then-current validity, or their return to the country, whichever happens first;
- (b) a person travelling under the protection of the passport of a parent or guardian; or
- (c) a person travelling on another country’s passport with the approval of the Minister responsible for citizenship matters.
Section 70(2) and (4) — citizenship obtained by fraud
A person found by a court to have obtained citizenship by false representation, fraud or concealment of a material fact loses their citizenship — unless the Minister is satisfied that the offence was of a minor nature and that revelation of the true fact would not have affected the grant.
Section 70(4) provides a separate route for citizenship granted under the sport or investment provision in section 67(4): where the Minister is of the opinion that it was obtained by false representation or concealment of a material fact, he may, in his deliberate judgement and subject to the Citizenship Advisory Committee, withdraw or cancel the citizenship.
Section 71 — acts done under compulsion of law
The loss provisions do not apply to any act done under compulsion of law of another country. A person compelled by foreign law to do something within section 70 does not lose PNG citizenship by that act.
Section 72 — renunciation
A citizen of voting age and full capacity may renounce their citizenship in the manner and on the conditions prescribed by or under an Act — but only if they already hold another nationality or citizenship, or the renunciation is for the purpose of obtaining one. The Constitution will not permit a person to make themselves stateless.
Section 72(3): during a time of war, citizenship may not be renounced without the prior consent of the Minister.
Section 73 — regaining citizenship
- (a) Where citizenship was held under section 65 (automatic) or section 66 (descent) — it can be regained only after five years’ continuous residence in the country after the loss, and in the deliberate judgement of the Minister, subject to the Citizenship Advisory Committee.
- (b) Where citizenship was held by naturalisation — only in accordance with the law relating to naturalisation, and any period of residence before the loss is disregarded. In practice that means starting the eight-year clock again.
Where a person was a citizen under section 65 or 66, married a national or citizen of another country, became a national or citizen of that country on or during the marriage, and the marriage has permanently broken up, the five-year period becomes three years — running from the date of the break-up if the person was then resident in the country, or from their return to reside in the country if they were not.
Section 74 — children
Where a parent loses citizenship, and the Minister is satisfied on application made on behalf of the child that it is for the welfare of the child to do so, the Minister may by order deprive the child of citizenship.
A person aggrieved by such an order may appeal to the National Court — one of the few express appeal rights in Part IV. An Act may make special provision to facilitate the regaining of citizenship by children who lost it because a parent did.
Apply under section 81 for a certificate as to citizenship. Subject to section 76, it is conclusive evidence of the status it states unless obtained by false representation, fraud or concealment of a material fact.
Sources
- Constitution — ss 64, 70–74, 76, 81
- Citizenship Act (Chapter 12)
Constitutional sections are amended. Before relying on anything here, read the current text: the Constitution on PacLII. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor.