The Legal Officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in Ottawa, provided the following information that was gathered from UNHCR colleagues in Angola following interviews with immigration authorities and independent research:

The Law of Nationality 13/91 and Regulation 1/86 is applicable to all individuals born in Angola (including refugees) as follows:

a. if one parent is Angolan: there is automatic attribution of Angolan nationality as per Article 8 of Law 13/91 and Article 1 of Regulation 1/86;

b. if none of the parents is Angolan: the person has to first relinquish his parents' nationality by declaration at the Angolan Civil Registry. Then s/he must address a request to the Ministry of Justice, which should attribute Angolan nationality, providing the petitioner has resided in Angola to the age of eighteen (18) years, as per Article 14 of Law 13/91 and Articles 5 to 8 of Regulation 1/86.

The Law of Nationality 13/91, like all previous Angolan Nationality Acts, does not favour dual nationality. In fact, with regards to a person born in Angola of non-Angolan parents, the legislation (13/91) requires express renunciation of other nationality as a pre-requisite to obtaining Angolan nationality. This clearly appears through the reading of dispositions contained in Regulation no. 1/86 such as Article 5: "The citizen born in Angola of mother and father of foreign origin who does not acquire his parent's nationality is attributed Angolan Nationality."

UNHCR Angola further clarifies that Article 1 of Regulation 1/86, with regard to a person born in Angola with only one parent of Angolan origin, states that "the citizen born in Angola whose birth certificate indicates the Angolan nationality of any of the parents, is attributed Angolan nationality (31 July 2003).

The Legal Officer added that her Angolan colleagues deem that "there is nothing in the legislation to prevent a person benefiting from the nationality of his/her foreign parent as well" (UNHCR 31 July 2003).

For an English translation of Angola's Nationality Law of 6 May 1991, please consult the Country of Origin and Legal Information section for Angola on of the UNHCR Website at http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/print.html?CATEGORY=RSDLEGAL&id=3ae6b4df34.

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.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representation in Canada, Ottawa. 31 July 2003. Correspondence from the Legal Officer.