NATIONALITY: Libya
In May 2010 ‘Law number (24) on The Libyan Nationality’ was adopted. This law is currently
still in force.
2.1 Right to Nationality
Article 2 of the Nationality Law stipulates that:
Every person with regular residency in Libya since 7 October 1951, without any other foreign
nationality, is considered Libyan if one of the following conditions is applicable to him/her:
• He/she is born in Libya
• He/she is born outside Libya but one of his/her parents is born in Libya
• He/she is born outside Libya but resided regularly in Libya for a period not less than 10 years
before 07/10/1951
Article 3 adds that a person is also considered Libyan if:
• He/she is born in Libya to a Libyan father
• He/she is born outside Libya to a Libyan father
• He/she is born in Libya to a Libyan mother and a father that either has an unknown
nationality or who’s stateless. Or his/her parents are unknown
2.2 Renunciation and Loss of Nationality
No articles in the Libyan Nationality Law concern renunciation of Libyan nationality.
The Nationality Law states that a Libyan citizen can lose his/her nationality if he/she obtains a
foreign nationality without prior permission of the Libyan authorities. Further information on
how to obtain permission from the authorities is not provided in the law and has not been
found elsewhere. Also, obtaining the Libyan nationality based on false information, forged
documents and/or withholding relevant information concerning one’s nationality is one of the
reasons mentioned that could lead to revoking the Libyan nationality by the authorities.
Furthermore, if a father loses his Libyan nationality, consequently so do his children. What
happens if the mother is Libyan as well and how this relates to the last bullet under article 3,
as mentioned in the section above, remains unclear. Article13 of the Nationality Law states two
more reasons for Libyan nationality to be revoked: 1) if within ten years of obtaining
nationality the person has acted against the interests of Libya, 2) if the person within those ten
years has resided outside Libya for reasons that were not approved by the authorities. Possible
reasons that could be approved or disapproved of are not listed in the law.
2.3 Reacquisition of Nationality
According to article 8 of the Law on Nationality, it is possible to reacquire the Libyan
nationality for a person who obtained nationality of the country he/she emigrated to. The
person needs to submit documents that prove his/her Libyan origin.
Article 7 lists the following conditions for establishing Libyan origin: