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1. THE LAW : Under Part 4, Section 20, Subsection 5 of the Citizenship Act of 1948, a Sri Lankan Citizen automatically ceases to be a Citizen of Sri Lanka once he obtains citizenship of another country unless he becomes a Dual Citizen. (Any Sri Lankan who obtains citizenship of another country, without becoming a Dual Citizen, should therefore surrender his Sri Lanka Passport to the Controller, Immigration and Emigration - Colombo or this Mission.) 2. ARE THERE PROVISIONS TO APPLY FOR DUAL CITIZENSHIP : Yes, The Citizenship (Amendment ) Act No. 45 of 1987, now provides for Sri Lankans to apply either to retain or resume Sri Lanka Citizenship (Dual Citizenship). (a) Sri Lankans who wish to apply for Canadian Citizenship, prior to their Naturalization, can apply to retain their Sri Lankan Nationality (Retention). (b) Sri Lankans who have already obtained Canadian Citizenship, and now desire to obtain their lost Sri Lankan Nationality can also apply to resume it (Resumption). For both cases, applications duly completed in duplicate should be sent directly to the following address : Assistant
Secretary Applications for this purpose can be obtained form this office by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope. Dual Citizenship application forms are not available on-line. 3. TO WHOM WILL THE CITIZENSHIP BE GRANTED ? Dual Citizenship is granted to persons who would benefit Sri Lanka such as professionals, investor, etc. Documentary evidence is necessary : (i) to support your claim that you were/are a Sri Lankan (ii) to prove your professional qualifications and your age (iii) to prove the value of your assets Therefore, when forwarding the applications duly completed, you should forward the following documents with copies. (I)
(II)
(The decision, however, to grant Dual Citizenship rests with the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.) 4. THE FEES The Fee for Dual Citizenship is as follows : (i) Fee for single applicant : Rs. 200,000/= (ii) Fee for Husband and Wife: Rs. 250,000/= (iii) Fee for unmarried, under age of 21 years each dependent child : Rs. 50,000/= Separate applications should be submitted by husband and wife. When the question of payment arises, your application will be treated as a family unit. 5. DO YOU KNOW ? When a baby is born to a Sri Lankan in Canada, it is a requirement that the child’s name be registered in Sri Lanka also to enable the child to retain his/her Sri Lanka citizenship. A child so registered will have citizenship of Sri Lanka in addition to the citizenship acquired by virtue of the child’s birth in Canada. At the age of 21 years he/she will automatically loose Sri Lanka citizenship unless he/she renounces the citizenship of Canada. 6. WHAT ELSE ? When you acquire the dual citizenship, you retain/resume the responsibilities, duties, rights and privileges as a Sri Lankan. January 2001 Consular
Division Note: The information provided by the publisher herein is of general nature, and should not be construed as legal advice. |
