The following information was provided in a 19 December 1994 telephone interview with a representative of the High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh in Ottawa.

A foreign national, whether male or female, can obtain Bangladeshi citizenship by marrying a Bangladeshi citizen, in addition to fulfilling certain other citizenship requirements. The representative could not provide greater detail on those requirements other than residency in Bangladesh for a consecutive period of time. The source was unable to give the duration of this residency period. Whether born in Bangladesh or abroad, the children of a foreign woman and a Bangladeshi male citizen are automatically Bangladeshi citizens. However, the children of a foreign man and a Bangladeshi female citizen are not Bangladeshi citizens.

The representative stated that a child born outside Bangladesh to a man who is a Bangladeshi citizen will receive Bangladeshi citizenship automatically, once the father registers the child's birth, on the birth registration form, at the nearest Bangladeshi high commission, embassy or consulate and provides the mission with the child's birth certificate, proof of fatherhood and proof of his own Bangladeshi citizenship. Corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Ottawa. 19 December 1994. Telephone interview with representative.

Constitutions of the Countries of the World. January 1993. "Bangladesh."

Juris-Classeur Nationalité. 1993.

Travel Information Manual [Hoofddorp, The Netherlands]. Monthly. December 1994.