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Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925

The Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925[1][2][3] was a law of Mandatory Palestine that created a Palestinian citizenship for residents of the territory of Palestine Mandate. It was promulgated on 24 July 1925 and came into force on 1 August 1925.[4] The Order remained in effect until 14 May 1948, when the British withdrew from the Mandate, and Palestinian citizenship came to an end.[5] Israel enacted a Citizenship Law in 1952, while West Bank residents came under Jordan’s nationality law.

Territorial extent 

24 July 1925

1 August 1925

Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890

natural change from Ottoman to Palestinian citizenship (Part I of the Order)

birth to a father who was a Palestine citizen himself, or birth within Palestine without acquiring the nationality of any other State (Part II of the Order)

naturalization following a period of residence in Palestine (Part III of the Order)

The law gave effect to Article 7 of the Mandate for Palestine, which stated:


It also gave effect to the Treaty of Lausanne, which came into force on 6 August 1924, and stated that the Ottoman nationals who were "habitually residents" of what became Palestine "will become ipso facto" nationals of that territory.[6]


The Order granted Palestinian citizenship to "Turkish subjects habitually resident in the territory of Palestine upon the 1st day of August, 1925".[4] Transjordan was specifically excluded.[4] Under some circumstances citizenship was also conferred on some persons habitually resident abroad, as well as the children or wife of a Palestinian man.[4] The Order contained no test based on race or religion, except that people in the non-majority race could opt out of Palestinian citizenship if they were accepted by another state in which their race was a majority.[4]


Ottoman citizenship arose from the Ottoman Nationality Law of 1869, which created a common Ottoman citizenship irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliation.


Under the Order, Palestinian citizenship could be acquired by:[3]


Palestinian citizens had the right of abode in Palestine, but were not British subjects, and were instead considered British protected persons.

Constitution of Mandatory Palestine

History of Palestinian nationality

Ottoman Nationality Law of 1869

"Diplomacy in the Near and Middle East: A Documentary Record 1914-1956" (New York: Praeger, 1956)

Hurewitz, J. C.

Official Gazette 16 September 1925 pp. 460-78

Palestinian Citizenship Order and Regulations 1925

A Survey of Palestine prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, Vol. I Chapter VII pp. 206-8

Acquisition of Palestinian Citizenship

Report by His Britannic Majesty's Government to the Council of The League of Nations on the Administration of Palestine and Transjordan for the Year 1925