Defining Somali citizenship is complicated by the fact that Somalia has lacked functioning institutions of governance in recent decades.

However, citizenship in Somalia is nominally governed by the country's citizenship law of 1962, which provides that citizenship may be granted to any person whose father is Somali or ethnically Somali and who renounces any nationality. In practice, Somalis may sometimes be considered stateless due to the lack of capacity of the Somali state to offer protection (see De Jure Statelessness in the Real World: Applying the Prato Summary Conclusions). Although the 1962 law does not allow dual citizenship, the 2012 interim constitution allows Somalis to hold other citizenships.

Acquisition of citizenship

A person can acquire citizenship if:

• Their father is a Somali citizen; or
• They are Somali and are willing to renounce citizenship in any other country.
• The government explicitly provides this.
• When a non-Somali man marries a Somali woman, the woman involuntarily loses her Somali citizenship;
• When a non-Somali woman marries a Somali man, she automatically becomes a Somali citizen regardless of her preferences;
• Somali women cannot transfer their citizenship to their husbands;
• Somali mothers cannot pass citizenship to their children.

Refugees staying in the country must meet the following requirements:

• Permission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Verification from the Somali National Refugee Agency
• UNHCR refugee card
• Passport or other similar documents, valid for at least one year (if available).
• Two passport-size photos.