First Citizenship Amendment Bill of Nepal: The Parliament of Nepal recently passed the first ever “Citizenship Amendment Bill”.

Background:

• The bill has been under discussion in the House of Representatives since 2020 because it could not bring a consensus among political parties.
• It failed to be endorsed due to differences among the political parties over certain provisions, namely the seven-year waiting period for obtaining naturalized citizenship for foreign women married to Nepali men.

About Nepal’s first Citizenship Amendment Bill 2022:

• Nepal’s first Citizenship Amendment Bill 2022 will amend the Nepal Citizenship Act 2006.
• Bill will make provisions to provide citizenship in line with the Constitution.
• There was a need to amend the citizenship act because There are thousands of people who are deprived of citizenship certificates even though their parents are citizens of Nepal.
• The lack of citizenship further deprives them of education and other facilities provided by the government.

Citizenship Law in Nepal:

• Citizenship or Nationality in Nepal is regulated under Articles 8, 9, and 10 of the Constitution of Nepal.
• Nepal Parliament promulgated the “Nepal Citizenship Act 1964” on February 28, 1964.
• The act provides for single citizenship in the entire country.
• Later in 2006, the “Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006” was promulgated to repeal the 1964 act.
• 2006 act comprises of provisions related to termination and acquisition of citizenship in Nepal.
• To get a citizenship card in Nepal, people need to present citizenship cards of mother and father, along with the birth certificate.

About Nepal:

• Nepal formally the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia.
• It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, bordering Tibet of China to the north, and India in the south, east, and west.
• It is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim.
• Nepal is a multinational state, with Nepali as the official language.
• The currency used here is the Nepalese rupee.
• Kathmandu is the nation's capital.