The Council of Ministers adopted a bill Thursday that sets a condition for acquiring nationality by marriage, one must be married to an Ivorian citizen for five years. By setting this condition, the authorities hope to reduce the number of frauds significantly.
There are two possibilities for applying for Ivorian nationality, either by marriage or by applying for naturalization. However, this administrative process is long and tedious and the result is not guaranteed. “A lot of people fall back on the simpler option and make fake marriages”, says a source in the Department of Justice.
Difficult to have precise statistics, but the “fraud on marriage certificates is important”, explains a source close to the file. The fraudsters are “some of Syrian, Lebanese or South Korean origin”, continues this source… and many offenses are not even detected, all in an environment where civil status still needs to be improved.
Avoid fraud
The Council of Ministers adopted a bill to reduce cases of fraud. This new text requires couples to wait five years after marriage to apply for nationality. An investigation must then verify the community of life before the declaration can be accepted by the Minister of Justice. The period can be reduced to three years if the couple has two children.