Bahamas: The Certificate of Identity and the rights it confers to the bearer; requirements to maintain the right to apply for citizenship if bearers travel outside the country
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Publication Date | 29 April 2011 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BHS103740.E |
| Related Document(s) | Bahamas : information sur le certificat d'identité (Certificate of Identity - COI) et les droits qu'il confère à son détenteur; les exigences permettant au détenteur de conserver le droit de demander la citoyenneté s'il voyage à l'étranger |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Bahamas: The Certificate of Identity and the rights it confers to the bearer; requirements to maintain the right to apply for citizenship if bearers travel outside the country, 29 April 2011, BHS103740.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/50b865bc2.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Bahamas indicates that a Certificate of Identity (COI) is issued to people who were born in the Bahamas after 10 July 1973 to non-Bahamian parents (Bahamas n.d.). They are issued until the bearers are old enough to apply for citizenship (ibid.). The COI, although not a passport, is a form of identification that enables non-citizens living in the Bahamas to travel more easily (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate on 21 April 2011, an official at the High Commission of the Bahamas in Ottawa explained that the COI allows a child to live in the Bahamas and travel to and from the Bahamas. When the child turns 18 years old, he or she can apply for Bahamian citizenship (Bahamas 21 Apr. 2011). The official also provided the following information:
'A person born in The Bahamas neither of whose parents is a citizen, shall be entitled to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas, subject to exceptions or qualifications prescribed in the interests of national security or public policy, by making application within 12 months after his 18th birthday. Such persons, if they are citizens of another country, will be required to renounce that citizenship, take an oath of allegiance, and make a declaration of intent concerning residence.' (ibid.)
A 2010 article by the government's information agency, the Bahamas Information Services, describes the COI as a "black, 32-page booklet" and notes that the Passport Office no longer issues the COI as a 2-page document (Bahamas 7 May 2010). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs likewise explains that the COI is an "electronic book" similar to a passport rather than the previously issued "paper document" (Bahamas n.d.). The requirements to obtain a COI include submission of a completed application form, three recent photographs, the applicant's original birth certificate or affidavit of birth, and an "immunization card [or] Baptismal certificate, if available" (ibid.). Minors up to the age of 18 are required to submit either the mother's or the father's passport; if the father's passport is submitted, a copy of the registered marriage certificate is also necessary (ibid.).
In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate on 20 April 2011, the official at the High Commission of the Bahamas in Ottawa stated that a COI can only be renewed within the Bahamas and that the date of validity cannot be extended from abroad. Information about whether a bearer of a COI would have to return to the Bahamas before the COI expired in order to maintain the right to apply for Bahamian citizenship could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Bahamas. 21 April 2011. High Commission of the Bahamas in Ottawa. Correspondence with the Deputy High Commissioner.
_____. 20 April 2011. High Commission of the Bahamas in Ottawa. Telephone interview with the Deputy High Commissioner.
_____. 7 May 2010. Bahamas Information Services. Lindsay Thompson. "Passport Office Continuing Its Thrust to Better Serve the Public."
_____. N.d. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Passport Application Requirements."
Additional Sources Consulted
Internet sites, including: Factiva, United Nations (UN) Refworld.
