Information on the citizenship status of children born in Ethiopia to Somali nationals, additional to that found in ETH17581.E of 31 May 1994 and ETH17623.E of 15 June 1994, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a counsellor at the Embassy of Ethiopia in Washington, DC confirmed that under Ethiopian citizenship law, children of foreign nationals born in Ethiopia do not automatically become citizens but must apply to be naturalized after reaching the age of 18 (14 Jan. 1999). The counsellor did not provide information on the relevant laws or procedures that would have to be followed to become naturalized (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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.

Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, DC 14 January 1998. Telephone interview with counsellor.