The PPP/C, while in opposition, had criticised the APNU+AFC government for its hesitancy to release information on naturalizations, but now in office, there has been a blackout on what those figures currently are, even as the number of persons applying for citizenship here continues to increase daily.
Nearly every day, the dailies post notices of persons who have applied for citizenship and they include some persons who have been living in this country for over two decades.
Observers have pointed out that since the discovery of oil, Guyana has become an attractive country to foreign nationals, and opportunities afforded under this country’s Local Content laws puts locals in a better position to establish businesses.
Stabroek News has repeatedly reached out to Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, for assistance in getting those numbers as it is his ministry which is responsible for the citizenship issuances.
Benn had a few weeks ago, promised to get someone to assist, but since then, he has not responded to this newspaper’s messages or answered calls.
While it is unclear the countries the persons applying for naturalisation are originally from, it appears that the applicants are mostly Cuban, Venezuelan and Indian.
The last naturalisation figures were given in 2019, following criticisms levelled by then Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, against the APNU+AFC government, accusing the system of being corrupt.
Jagdeo had said that he had seen what seemed to be suspicious ads published in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle. He produced ads which he said were discovered during research by a team led by current Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira, where the same photograph of two applicants appeared on two different occasions but with different names and addresses.
The Chronicle had later said that they were errors, which resulted from a layout glitch and that these were immediately rectified when brought to its attention.
Then Police Commissioner Winston Felix had released statistics which revealed that just under 900 foreign nationals had been granted Guyanese citizenship since he had taken office in 2015. It is unclear what the number increased to when the government changed in August of 2020.
He shared information on those who were granted Guyanese citizenship between the period, June 2015 and March 2019, including the numbers (888 in total), the grounds upon which they based their applications, and their nationalities.
According to that information and in keeping with what is outlined in the laws of Guyana, and specifically the Guyana Citizenship Act, there are four avenues for registration as a citizen of Guyana: 1) marriage to a Guyanese national; 2) being the minor child born abroad to a Guyanese; 3) being an adult foreign national of Guyanese parentage; and 4) naturalisation. The latter requires residence in Guyana for a specified period of time.
In the case of citizenship by marriage, Felix had explained that there is no time qualification for an applicant to seek citizenship. “The law states nothing like that. You get married to a Guyanese today, tomorrow you can apply for citizenship [and] as soon as you get citizenship you can apply for your passport,” he explained.
From June 2015 to March 2019, the annual figures stood at 104, 136, 128, 155 and 33 respectively, for those who were granted citizenship based on marriage; for those in the minor category, the figures presented were 10, 14, 26, 26 and 6 respectively; for those adult foreign nationals of Guyanese parentage, the figures were 23, 34, 53, 53 and 10 respectively; and for those naturalised, the figures were 4, 8, 23, 18 and 24 respectively.
Persons representing 42 nationalities were granted citizenship from June 2015 up to March this year. Most of them were naturalised, having spent the required amount of time living in Guyana.
In 2015, Cubans topped the list of those granted citizenship with 20 successful applicants, followed by Britons at 16, Jamaicans at 15, and Indians at 14.
In 2016, Cubans topped the list again with 23; followed by Indians, 18; Brazilians, 17; Nigerians, 16; Britons, 15; Jamaicans, 12; St Lucians, 11; and Trinidadians, 10.
According to the figures provided, in 2017 Nigerians topped the list with 43 successful applicants, followed by Americans, 25; Cubans, 19; Brazilians and Jamaicans, with 13 of each; and Indians, 12. In 2018, Cubans topped the list with 44 successful applicants followed by Nigerians, 35; Brazilians, 19; Indians, Trinidadians, Americans and Venezuelans, with 15 of each; Jamaicans, 12; and Britons, 11. For the part of 2019 reported on, Nigerians headed the list with 14, followed by Cubans, 8; and Trinidadians and Brazilians, with 6 each.
Citizens from Bangladesh, Barbados, Kenya, Libya, the Philippines and Zimbabwe have also been granted citizenship.
In responding to questions from this newspaper, Felix said there are three situations which lead to the granting of citizenship after the submission of an application. He made specific reference to Section 4 of the Guyana Citizenship Act, which deals with the `Registration of Certain persons as citizens’ and the Second Schedule which deals with `Qualification for Naturalisation.’ Felix had explained that Section 4 (1) covers those persons who come here from the Caribbean, England, Ireland, Scotland and former British territories who are now part of the Commonwealth. “They are entitled to five years of residence and they can apply for registration as a Guyanese,” he explained.
Any person born to Guyanese parents outside of Guyana can apply for citizenship either as a minor or as an adult. “If the child or the parent is seeking Guyanese naturalisation, all they need to do is to satisfy us by a birth certificate that they are Guyanese and that the child was born of their body.”
For the naturalisation category, the Act stipulates the length of time one has to be living in Guyana as well as other requirements which include the publication of naturalisation notices in a newspaper. Prior to the application, the applicant must be resident in Guyana for at least 12 months and in the seven preceding years the applicant must be in Guyana for periods amounting to not less than five years.
Felix said that the opposition had failed to note that in all the instances outlined in that section, the minister has “discretionary powers.”
Meanwhile data from Ministry of Home Affairs showed that for the period 2010 to 2014, approximately 350 foreign nationals were granted citizenship by the Guyana government with the majority being St Lucians, Cubans, Chinese, and Brazilians.
According to information gathered by this newspaper, 2011 was the year when the highest number of citizenship applications were granted, followed by 2013 and 2012. The year 2014 had the lowest number with less than 40 applications being granted.
In 2010, British citizens topped the list followed by St Lucians, Trinidadians, and Brazilians, in that order. In 2011, it was St Lucians followed by Chinese and Brazilians. 2012’s majority applicants were Cubans followed by Brazilians, Nigerians, and Jamaicans, while 2013’s were Cubans, followed by St Lucians and Indians. In 2014, there was a tie among Americans, Cubans, and Indians, and they were followed by the Trinidadians.
