Constitution of Solomon Islands 1978, as amended to 2023
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    (1) (a) Every person who is immediately before Independence Day an indigenous Solomon Islander shall become a citizen of Solomon Islands on Independence Day.
    (b) Every person who was born in Solomon Islands before Independence Day and who has or had two grandparents who are or were members of a group, tribe or line indigenous to Papua New Guinea or the New Hebrides shall become a citizen of Solomon Islands on Independence Day.
    (2) Every person who before Independence Day has made, or been included in, an application to the Government for citizenship of Solomon Islands containing the information specified in subsection (4) of this section and who at the time of making such application possessed any of the qualifications specified in subsection (3) of this section shall become a citizen of Solomon Islands on Independence Day.
    (3) The qualifications referred to in subsection (2) of this section and subsection (1) of the next following section are that the person concerned, not being an indigenous Solomon Islander, is -
    (a) a woman married to an indigenous Solomon Islander; or
    (b) a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person who was born in Solomon Islands; or
    (c) a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person having acquired such status under the British Nationality Acts 1948 to 1965(a) by virtue of his having been naturalised or registered under those Acts, or naturalised as a British subject before 1949, by the Governor of the former protectorate of the Solomon Islands; or
    (d) a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person whose father possesses, or at his death possessed, one of the qualifications specified in paragraph (b) or (c) or (d) of this subsection; or
    (e) a woman who has been married to a person who possesses, or at his death possesses, one of the qualifications specified in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of this section; or(f) a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person who was deemed to belong to Solomon Islands because such person -
    (i) has lawfully resided in Solomon Islands for any period of seven years during which he has not been absent therefrom for a period or periods amounting in all to more than eighteen months and since the completion of such period of residence has not been ordinarily resident continuously for a period of two years or more in any other territory within the Commonwealth in circumstances in which he has acquired or retained a right of residence in that territory; or
    (ii) is the wife of a person to whom the foregoing subparagraph applies not living apart from such person under a decree of a court or a deed of separation; or
    (iii) is the Child, step-child or child adopted in a manner recognised by law under the age of eighteen years of a person to whom either of the foregoing subparagraphs applies.
    (4) The information required to be contained in an application for the purposes of this section and the next following section is as follows -
    (a) the name, date and place of birth (so far as is known) of the applicant, of any other person included in the application or of a minor on whose behalf the application is made, together with, where applicable, the date of naturalisation or registration;
    (b) a statement by the applicant whether or not he is including in his application his wife and minor children, if any, and in the case of an application including a wife, a statement by her that she consents to her inclusion in the application;
    (c) if the applicant is applying on grounds that his father was born, naturalised or registration in Solomon Islands, also the father's name, place and date of birth (so far as is known) and, if relevant, the date of the father's naturalisation or registration;
    (d) if the application is made by or on behalf of a woman on grounds of marriage to a man who, or whose father, was born, naturalised or registered in Solomon Islands, also the name, place and date of birth (so far as is known) and, if relevant, the date of naturalisation or registration of the man and, if necessary, his father;
    (e) a statement by the applicant that, if he is resident in Solomon Islands at the time of making application, he intends to continue such residence, or that, if he is not so resident at that time, he regards Solomon Islands as his home country;
    (f) a declaration by the applicant of his allegiance to Solomon Islands and his respect for the culture, the language and the way of life of Solomon Islands; and
    (g) a statement by the applicant that he intends to renounce any other nationality that he may hold at the time of making application.
    ... (Sec. 20)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    (1) Every person who immediately before the Independence Day possessed any of the qualifications specified in subsection (3) of the preceding section and who within the prescribed period has made, or been included in, an application to the Government for citizenship of Solomon Islands continuing the information specified in subsection (4) of the preceding section shall be registered as a citizen of Solomon Islands.
    … (Sec. 21)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    Every person born on or after Independence Day, whether within or outside Solomon Islands, shall become a citizen of Solomon Islands at the date of his birth if at that date either of his parents is, or would but for his death have been, a citizen of Solomon Islands. (Sec. 22)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    Parliament may make provision -
    (a) for the acquisition of citizenship of Solomon Islands by persons who are not eligible or who are no longer eligible to become citizens of Solomon Islands by virtue of the provisions of this Chapter;
    (b) for the deprivation and renunciation of citizenship of Solomon Islands held by any person who has attained the age of eighteen years. (Sec. 25)
Citizenship and Nationality
  • English
    (1) In this Chapter –

    "indigenous Solomon Islander" means any person who is or one of whose parents is or was, a British protected person and of a group, tribe or line indigenous to Solomon Islands:
    (2) Any reference in this Chapter to the father of a person shall, in relation to a person born out of wedlock, be construed as a reference to the mother of that person.
    ... (Sec. 26)
1

Constitution of Solomon Islands 1978, as amended to 2018 (English); 2022 Amendment to the Constitution (English); 2023 Amendment to the Constitution (English). The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the Constitution of Solomon Islands 1978 (English).

Links to all sites last visited 27 November 2023
2

The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the 1978 Constitution.

3

The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the 1978 Constitution.

4

Sections 3 to 16 are part of Chapter II on Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individuals.

5

The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the 1978 Constitution.

6

The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the 1978 Constitution.

7

The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the 1978 Constitution.

8

The most recent consolidated version of the Constitution does not reflect correctly Section 15, which was not amended since the Constitution's adoption in 1978. For section 15, please refer to the 1978 Constitution.