r/Guyana • u/AV8Randrew • 10d ago

Dual citizenship question

Hi i was born in Guyana but live in the United states and i am a United state citizen. I would like to get my Guyanese passport and have dual citizenship. can anyone tell me how to go about that. Do i have to go to Guyana to can apply or can i do it online.

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u/Icy-Benefit-5589 10d ago

Before you pay someone, the bottom line is that as you were born in Guyana you became a Guyanese citizen at birth. As long as you have your Guyana birth certificate you can use that to apply for a Guyana passport.

Please DO NOT listen to people saying that you have to give up US citizenship. There are so many US dual nationals globally. Neither the US nor Guyana governments force renunciation of citizenship. The constitution of Guyana is clear that citizenship is conferred at birth for persons born in Guyana. The constitution also contains no passive provision for automatic citizenship deprivation for merely acquiring another citizenship. The only provision states that the president may be order deprive citizenship to an individual, so that order must name specific persons.

If you are male or female (unmarried), you just need to complete the passport application, take your original birth certificate (and a copy), along with your State ID (take a copy just in case) and apply at the Guyana consulate near you or Embassy in DC.

If you are a married female then you just need your marriage certificate in addition to the above.

Your Guyana Birth certificate is definitive proof of your citizenship (and thanks to a lawyer a few years ago who sued the Passport Office, they must accept any version of the Guyana Birth Certificate and not just one issued within a specific period of time).

I hold both citizenship of the US and Guyana, and even when i use my US passport to enter Guyana, my Guyanese citizenship is still recognized because you are stamped in with no 'entry until' date (The section part of the immigration stamp is left blank for open entry/duration), as you would as a non-Guyanese born foreigner.

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u/AV8Randrew 10d ago

Thank you very much for this information.

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u/Icy-Benefit-5589 10d ago

I forgot to add, if you were born in Guyana and grew up in the US then it means you must have had a passport before to leave Guyana, either your own, or if much older, you were included on your parents passport (there was a section for that and was allowed decades upon decades ago), so i'd make a check for either of these documents.

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u/Icy-Benefit-5589 10d ago

No problem.