Naturalization Act, 1926

The Naturalization Act, 1926 sets out how a foreign national (an "alien") living in Pakistan can become a citizen through naturalization. Under Section 3, the granting authority (now the Director General, Immigration and Passports, after a 2025 amendment shown in the extract's footnotes) may grant a certificate of naturalization to an applicant who is not a minor, is not already a Pakistani citizen or barred by their own country's law from giving up that citizenship, has lived in Pakistan for the twelve months immediately before applying and for at least four of the preceding seven years, is of good character, knows one of Pakistan's principal vernacular languages, and intends to keep living in Pakistan or to serve the state here. A widow or divorcee who was previously a Pakistani citizen before marrying a non-citizen is excused from the residence and intent conditions.

Section 4 describes what the application must contain — age, place of birth, residence, occupation, and disclosure of any prior naturalization applications, rejections, grants, or revocations — verified by affidavit. Section 5 lets the granting authority issue the certificate once satisfied the applicant qualifies, and lets a minor child of the applicant be included in the same certificate; an appeal against a refusal goes to the Secretary of the relevant administrative division. Section 6 requires the new citizen to take and subscribe an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of Pakistan within thirty days of the grant (extendable for sufficient cause), and Section 7 provides that the certificate has no effect until that oath is taken — only then does the person (and any included child, and in some cases their spouse) become a citizen of Pakistan with full rights and obligations.

Sections 8 through 11 (not detailed in this extract) deal with revoking a certificate and its consequences, and declarations of alienage. Section 14 clarifies that a child does not automatically inherit naturalization rights just because a parent became a citizen this way. Sections 14B and 14C are special provisions validating certificates granted before Partition in 1947 and certificates issued under the earlier 1852 Naturalization Act. This is a very old statute, amended repeatedly since 1926 (including as recently as 2025, per the footnotes), so anyone relying on specific eligibility conditions or the current title of the deciding authority should confirm against the latest official text.