Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has signed into law a controversial bill that would enable the authorities to annul the citizenship of people convicted of certain crimes related to terrorism and state security.
The Kazakh presidential administration said the measure was signed on July 11.
It was approved by both chambers of parliament in May and June.
Under the new law, Kazakhs could be stripped of their citizenship if they are convicted of organizing or joining terrorist groups, posing a threat to the Central Asian country's "vitally important interests," or plotting to kill the president, among other offenses.
Critics say the legislation might be used against many opposition politicians, some of whom have been living in self-imposed exile abroad, as the definition of "vitally important interests of Kazakhstan" is vague.
Nazarbaev, 76, has been in power since 1989, two years before Kazakhstan gained independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union.