Tanzania naturalizes more than 3,000 foreigners, including Comorians

The Ministry of the Interior of the autonomous government of Zanzibar has made the exceptional gesture of granting certificates of Tanzanian nationality to 3,319 long-term immigrants. They are not young people, having lived in the country for at least 50 years, and some were even born in Tanzania or Zanzibar before independence in 1960.

The vast majority of these immigrants, or descendants of migrants, come from Mozambique – over 3,000 of them. There are also 147 Comorians among the lucky few, while others have their origins in Burundi and Rwanda.

The formalities involved in obtaining citizenship are terribly long and complicated in this country; if it’s by marriage, only women can apply for citizenship, without being certain of obtaining it, paying fees ranging from 800 to 1,500 euros, which are not reimbursed in the event of refusal.

Every year, during the pilgrimage to Mecca, many foreign resident worshippers are unable to leave for lack of a passport.

As required by law, these new Tanzanians must renounce their original nationality.

Alex Khatib