Document #1187104
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
A representative at the Embassy of
Equatorial Guinea in Washington, DC, stated during a 4 March 1997
telephone interview that a person outside Equatorial Guinea who
wishes to recover his or her lost Equatorial Guinea nationality
must contact the nearest embassy of Equatorial Guinea. The person
must provide the embassy with a letter requesting reinstatement of
his or her Equatorial Guinea nationality and an Equatorial Guinea
passport. The letter must be accompanied by a written sworn
declaration (declaración jurada) from the applicant
renouncing his or her current nationality (or citizenship,
depending on the country), and a copy of his or her birth
certificate or other document showing that the person had or is
entitled to claim Equatoguinean nationality. Other documents that
could be submitted instead of a birth certificate are an old
Equatorial Guinea passport or an old national identity card
(carnet de identidad). If the person has none of these
documents, a copy of the individual's original birth certificate or
identity card can be requested from the authorities in Equatorial
Guinea. The source indicated that the police in Equatorial Guinea
keep a copy of every national's identity card. For a person who
lost Equatoguinean nationality because he or she married a
foreigner and lived abroad, and who presents the documentation
indicated above, recovery of nationality and issuiance of an
Equatorial Guinea passport would be automatic. Processing the
documents and issuing the passport would take approximately one
week.
The only recent information among the
sources consulted on the level of discretion the authorities can
exercise in the application and enforcement of law, although
without specific references to questions of nationality of
citizenship, is provided by the United States Department of State
Country Reports 1996, which is available through the IRB
Sharenet and at your Regional Documentation Centre.
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.
Reference
Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial
Guinea, Washington, DC. 4 March 1997. Telephone interview with
representative.
Additional Sources Consulted
Constitutions of the Countries of the World.
Juris Classeur.
Africa Watch/Human Rights Watch.
Monthly.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive. Country and
issue-specific publications available at the DIRB Resource Centre
are not included in this listing.