IT HAS got more expensive for Jamaicans to give up their citizenship.
And for those who have given it up but wish to restore it, the financial cost will be just as heavy.
Amendments to regulations governing the Jamaican Nationality Act have pushed up the fees for renunciation of citizenship from $10,000 to $50,000 and application for restoring citizenship from $1,000 to $50,000.
Most Jamaicans renounce their citizenship because they live in other countries which prevent them from holding dual citizenship. But according to Shirley Byfield, Information Officer, Ministry of National Security, some people give up their citizenship unnecessarily.
"It's done out of ignorance," she said.
Ms. Byfield said that some people were unaware they could hold dual citizenship in some jurisdictions.
The amendments to the regulations which were tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, have also jacked up fees relating to application for citizenship for several different groups of persons.
For the spouse of a citizen of Jamaica, a Commonwealth citizen and a British protected person, the fee for registration as a citizen has moved from $3,000 in all cases to $15,000.
The fees for the registration of a minor as citizen whose application is made at the same time as one of his parents has jumped from $1,500 to $5,000.
If the minor is a Commonwealth citizen, a British protected person or an alien the fees charged for registration for naturalisation have moved from $1,500 to $5,000.
At the same time, the granting of a certificate of naturalisation to British protected persons or aliens, the fees have moved from $5,000 to $20,000.
