Immigration
Weak entry administration, mass internal displacement, and large-scale return
Citizenship rests on Law 28/1962 and passport administration has been rebuilt in stages. The dominant realities are internal displacement of millions, refugee populations in Kenya and Ethiopia, and returns.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal Immigration and Citizenship Agency; Somaliland and Puntland operate their own travel documents.
Governing law
- Somali Citizenship Law 28/1962
- Provisional Constitution 2012, Article 8 — citizenship
- Immigration and passport regulations issued federally
In practice
The 1962 citizenship law remains the formal basis and is dated in its treatment of descent and of women's transmission of nationality; the 2012 Provisional Constitution addresses citizenship in outline and leaves detail to legislation that has not been comprehensively enacted. Practical status documentation is complicated by the parallel authorities: Somaliland issues its own passports and identity documents, recognised by a handful of states for travel purposes, and Puntland has its own administration. The dominant movement facts are displacement from conflict and drought, with very large internally displaced populations around Mogadishu and other cities, protracted Somali refugee populations in Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya and in Ethiopia, and periodic organised returns. Statelessness risk arises for people without documentation from any authority. Administration cannot be described as a functioning uniform system.