Over the years, people have been migrating from one location to another and becoming a part of the community. In this era, people move to different jurisdictions, acquire citizenship in that country, and permanently stay there. Citizenship gives you permission to stay in a country and enjoy benefits that are legally given out to the citizens of that particular country. There are three ways by which you can attain citizenship in Nigeria, namely citizenship by birth, citizenship by registration, and citizenship by naturalization. Let us now discuss the three ways and understand what would be best for you to go for.

Citizenship by Birth

Section 25 of the Nigerian constitution states that individuals who are eligible for this category can obtain citizenship. Individuals born in Nigeria after the year 1960 1st October at least have to have a parent or a grandparent that belongs or has belonged to any community indigenous to the geographical location known as Nigeria.

If a child is born to Nigerian parents or grandparents, they can apply under this category. This, in layman’s language, would be stated as citizenship by birth visa descent. You must have blood ties in case there is no direct tie as such that neither the parent nor the grandparent is a citizen of Nigeria. To be a Nigerian citizen by birth, you must fall under this category.

Citizenship by Registration

Citizenship by registration falls under section 26 of the Nigerian constitution. Any individual will be issued a certificate of citizenship if they satisfy all the requirements that fall under this category. Some of those requirements are that the person should possess good character. This would require two people to testify for the same, and one of the two people must be a religious minister. Another requirement is that the person applying under this category must show an evident desire to settle permanently in Nigeria.

This step is duly done by filling in the residency requirements, which are necessary for all citizens. You have to also take an oath which is called the oath of allegiance to Nigeria, which is provided by schedule 7 under the Nigerian constitution and has to be administered on the person itself. In case you have been brought up in a different capacity and have an approved age, then you can, too, fall under this category of citizenship.

Citizenship by Naturalization

Other than the points mentioned above, you can also get citizenship by naturalization, which means that under section 27 of the constitution of Nigeria, any individual is provided certain requirements, and once those are met, subject to section 28 of the constitution of Nigeria, only then can you attain your citizenship.

Some of the basic requirements that fall under this category are that the applicant must be 18 years old, the person should have good character, and to justify that two people are needed, out of which one has to be a religious minister; the applicant should also be capable of contributing to the wellbeing of Nigeria and also its citizens. The governor must state the host community where the applicant has applied for citizenship. The individual must take the oath of allegiance under Schedule 7 of the Constitution. Other than this, if the applicant has lived in Nigeria for more than 15 years, they can also apply for the same.

To conclude, the Nigerian constitution is helpful and has put all the points via which you can become a Nigerian citizen. It is less stressful to get citizenship in Nigeria compared to any other country.

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