Section 4 of the Citizenship Act 1951 grants citizenship by birth to every person born in Pakistan after commencement, except where the father has diplomatic immunity and is not a citizen, or is an enemy alien in occupied territory. The statute text has not been amended to require a Pakistani parent; any narrowing toward a parentage rule sits in case-law and administrative practice, not in s. 4 as published.
s. 10(2): a woman married to a citizen of Pakistan (or who would have been a citizen but for death) is entitled, on application, to be registered as a citizen — if an alien, on obtaining a certificate of domicile and taking the oath of allegiance. No residence period in the Act. Wife-only; no equivalent for foreign husbands.
Child born abroad is a citizen by descent where a parent is a citizen otherwise than by descent. The official consolidation includes s. 5(2) (Act No. XXVII of 2026 s. 2), making the 2000 substitution of “parent” for “father” retrospective to the Act’s commencement.
Commonwealth-citizen citizenship by investment registration
s. 20 empowers the Federal Government to register a Commonwealth citizen or British protected person “upon such terms and conditions as it may by general or special order specify.” No remittance amount appears in the Act; commonly cited PKR 5,000,000 figures would live in subordinate orders/rules not located on pakistancode.gov.pk.
not verified against primary law — Statutory hook is s. 20 only. Investment amount remains unverified against official subordinate legislation.
s. 9 Citizenship Act 1951: the Federal Government may register as a citizen a person granted a certificate of naturalisation under the Naturalization Act 1926. Residence under 1926 s. 3(1)(c): twelve months immediately preceding the application plus an aggregate of at least four years in the seven years before that twelve-month period (~five years minimum), good character, and adequate knowledge of a declared vernacular. Discretionary.
Exchange normally requires residence in the destination and replaces the original licence. The official authority still decides validity, deadlines, classes, and any extra checks.