Around 5 000 Namibians still in possession of SWA IDs

More than 30 years after independence, thousands of people living in Namibia still hold South-West African identification documents (SWA IDs) which create barriers to obtaining Namibian citizenship.Home affairs and immigration minister Albert Kawana recently addressed this issue during a presentation to the National Assembly on the Regularisation of Status of Certain Residents of Namibia, their Descendants and Foreign Spouses Bill.“The bill provides that SWA ID holders will acquire citizenship by naturalisation; their descendants who were born outside South West Africa (Namibia) will acquire Namibian citizenship by descent, while those who were in South West Africa will acquire Namibian citizenship by birth; and their foreign spouses will acquire Namibian citizenship by marriage."No other homeKawana said despite the legal impediments that cannot be addressed in the Namibian Citizenship Act of 1990, they are cognisant of the fact that it has been 34 years since Namibia gained independence.“The category of persons who are affected have been in Namibia since before independence and have no other home except Namibia.”Kawana said that records indicate that 600 000 SWA IDs were issued between 1979 and 1990, of which many holders have been issued Namibian IDs since 1990.He said that based on statistics from 2016, about 5 000 people are still in possession of SWA IDs.“We, unfortunately, do not have full census results to see how this number has changed. Even in the absence of the latest figures, one individual in possession of a SWA ID who is unable to obtain Namibian documents is still one too many.”Phasing out Cabinet authorised SWA IDs to be phased out on 10 May 2016.The deadline was extended in 2017 to March 2018 because many SWA ID holders in remote areas of the country were not ready. Obtaining Namibian IDs requires acquiring Namibian citizenship or permanent residence permits.Kawana stated the bill applies to individuals who are currently ordinary residents in Namibia, were issued a valid SWA ID, have been residing in Namibia since the issuance of their SWA ID and are not already documented as Namibian citizens.Applications must be made within five years from the date of the commencement of the law to ensure that all affected persons are regularised so that SWA IDs can be phased out.Descendants of SWA ID holders who are eligible to acquire Namibian citizenship under the bill will also be able to acquire Namibian citizenship. Foreign spouses of SWA ID holders are also eligible to acquire Namibian citizenship under the bill, once passed into law, if they meet certain requirements.

Around 5 000 Namibians still in possession of SWA IDs

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-24

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Around 5 000 Namibians still in possession of SWA IDs

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-24

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