Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003

This Act may be cited as the Citizenship (Amendment)

Act, No. 16 of 2003.

Section 2 of the Citizenship Act (hereinafter referred to as the “principal enactment”) is hereby amended by the repeal of subsection (3) and the substitution therefor of the following new subsection :—

“(3)

Every person who has possessed of the aforesaid status is hereinafter referred to as a “Citizen of

Sri Lanka.”.

Section 5 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows :—

in subsection (1) of that section by the substitution, for the words “citizen of Ceylon by descent if at the time of his birth his father is a citizen of Ceylon” of the words “citizen of Sri Lanka if at the time of his birth either of his parents is or was a citizen of Sri

in subsection (2) of that section by the substitution , for the words “citizen of Ceylon by descent if at the time of his birth his father is a citizen of Ceylon” of the words “citizen of Sri Lanka if at the time of his birth either of his parents is or was a citizen of Sri

The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 5 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 5A of that enactment :—

5A.

date of

Any person who was born within or outside Sri Lanka after the appointed date but prior to the date of commencement of this

whose mother only was at the time of his birth a citizen of Sri Lanka and he is over twenty two years of age ; or

neither of whose parents was at the time of his birth a citizen of Sri Lanka but at least one of his parents subsequently becomes a citizen of

A person referred to in subsection (1)

A person referred to in subsection (1)

When a declaration is made under this section, the Minister shall specify the date with effect from which such person shall have acquired the status of a citizen of

The provisions of subsection (7) of section 19 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to a person who has acquired the status of a citizen of Sri Lanka by virtue of the preceding provisions of this section.

The provisions of section 26 of the principal enactment relating to the payment of fees, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the application of a person under this section.”.

The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 6 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 6A of that enactment :—

6A. (1) Any person who is a citizen of Sri

Lanka by virtue of the provisions of section 5, may if he so desires, apply to the Controller of

Immigration and Emigration for a Certificate of citizenship. The application shall be substantially in the Form set out in Schedule A hereto.

The Controller shall upon being satisfied of the status of the applicant, issue to the applicant, within sixty days of the receipt of the application, a Certificate, substantially in the

Where such Certificate is to be issued in relation to a minor child, the application for the same may be made on behalf of such minor child, by either parent.

No person shall require the production of a Certificate referred to in subsection (2) for any purpose and an affidavit shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

Section 9 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed.

Section 10 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution for the words “father” or

“father’s” wherever such words appear in that section, of the words “father or mother” or “father’s or mother’s”

respectively.

Section 11 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows :—

in subsection (1) of that section—

by the repeal of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of that section.

Section 20 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the repeal of subsection (3) of that section.

Section 23 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed.

Section 24 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed.

Section 28 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows :—

in subsection (1) of that section, by the substitution in the definition of the expression “minor child”, for the words “twenty one years” of the words “eighteen years” ; and

in subsection (2) of that section, by the substitution for the words “twenty one years” of the words

The following Schedule is hereby added immediately after section 28 of the principal enactment :—

SCHEDULE A

[Section 6A]

APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF CITIZENSHIP

UNDER SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT [CHAPTER 349]

1. I ……………… being the applicant*/a parent* of ……… a minor child hereby apply for a certificate of citizenship for myself*/my child aforementioned,* in terms of section 6A of the Act.

2. I hereby declare that I am,*/my child aforementioned is* a citizen of

Sri Lanka by virtue of the provisions of section 5 of the Act.

3. I set out below particulars relating to mayself*/my child aforementioned*.

• delete whichever is inapplicable

Full Name : ……………

Address : ……………

Sex : Male/Female

Date fo Birth :

Place of Birth :

If born outside Sri Lanka, place of registration of birth :

Particulars of parents—

…………………

…………………

Where a person who was registered under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 11, as a citizen of Sri Lanka prior to the date of commencement of this Act, acquires, by reason of the operation of the amendment made to section 5

of the principal enactment, by section 2 of this Act, the status of a citizen of Sri Lanka by descent, such person shall deemed to have become a citizen of Sri Lanka by descent, with effect from the date of the commencement of this Act.

In the event of an inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.