RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

Recognition of Citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan may take place provided that:

• individuals who held the citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan (or the Azerbaijan SSR) were registered at the place of their permanent residence therein before the date of entry into force of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan (before October 7, 1998);
• a person residing in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan was a refugee from January 1, 1988 to January 1, 1992;
• a person living in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a child, whose parents are unknown;

 any individual born in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is :

• a person born to parents, both or, at least, one of whom was a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the time of the child’s birth;
• a person born to parents, both of whom were stateless persons at the time of the child’s birth;
• a person born outside the Republic of Azerbaijan to parents, at least, one of whom is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
• a foreign-born child or a child without citizenship adopted by spouses who are citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
• an alien child or one without citizenship adopted by a married couple, one member of which is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the other is a stateless person;
• a child whose both parents have changed their citizenship and have acquired citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
• a child, whose, at least, one known parent has become a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
• a child living in the Republic of Azerbaijan, one of whose parents has acquired an RA citizenship and the other is a stateless person;
• a child whose one parent’s citizenship has been revoked while the other one remains a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In all the above-mentioned cases, the consent of children aged 14 to 18 is required to get recognition of their RA citizenship.

The RA citizenship of a person is recognized if a person who had been a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan (or the Azerbaijan SSR) before the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan entered into force (October 7, 1998), and had never left the Republic of Azerbaijan, nevertheless, had not been registered at his/her place of residence in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and, as a result, has been deprived of his/her citizenship.

Citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan is not recognized if there are grounds provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of the first part of Article 18 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The following are cases provided for by clauses 1, 2 and 3 of the first part of Article 18 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan:

1. Voluntary acquisition of citizenship of another state by a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
2. Voluntary service of a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan in state or municipal bodies, armed forces or other armed groups of a foreign state;
3. Behaviour that seriously harms the state security of the Republic of Azerbaijan.