Abkhazia (self-declared) The law on the repatriation of self-declared
Republic of Abkhazia gives the right of return to the ethnic
Abkhaz and
Abazins who are the descendants of the refugees who left Abkhazia due to the
19th-century genocide. The State Repatriation Committee provides support to the repatriates.
Armenia Article 14 of the
Constitution of Armenia (1995) provides that "[i]ndividuals of Armenian origin shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Armenia through a simplified procedure." This provision is consistent with the
Declaration on Independence of Armenia, issued by the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Armenia in 1989, which declared at article 4 that "Armenians living abroad are entitled to the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia".
Austria Under Section 58c of the Austrian Citizenship Act (), Austrians and their descendants who were persecuted or feared persecution by
Nazi Germany can become Austrian citizens. While Austria does not allow
dual citizenship in most circumstances, people who receive citizenship under § 58c may keep their previous citizenship. However, if they later receive another country's citizenship, they must renounce their Austrian citizenship and may not re-apply. Alternatively, they can apply for a permit for the retention of Austrian citizenship if they wish to receive another citizenship after claiming Austrian citizenship.
Finland People of Finnish origin may receive citizenship by declaration, which is faster and cheaper than naturalization and has fewer requirements. People of Finnish origin can be: 1) children, born abroad, of a Finnish father; 2) 12–17-year-old adopted children; 3) former Finnish citizens; 4) citizens of another
Nordic country; 5) 18-22-year-olds with a long residency in Finland. Formerly, Finland also accepted returnees with a
Soviet passport (or post-Soviet passport) where the ethnicity was marked as Finnish. This allowed the immigration of
Ingrian Finns and other Finns who had remained in the Soviet Union. People who served in the
Finnish Defence Forces or Finnish people evacuated by German or Finnish authorities from occupied areas to Finland during World War II also qualified as returnees. However, these options are no longer available, and applicants must qualify for ordinary naturalization instead.
France Another early example of
national law recognizing the Right of Return was the French constitution of 1791, enacted on 15 December 1790:
Germany German law allows (1) people descending from
German nationals of any ethnicity or (2) people of ethnic German descent and living in countries of the former
Warsaw Pact (as well as Yugoslavia) the right to "return" to Germany and ("re")claim German citizenship
Aussiedler/Spätaussiedler, "late emigrants"). After legislative changes in late 1992 this right is
de facto restricted to ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union. As with many legal implementations of the right of return, the "return" to Germany of individuals who may never have lived in Germany based on their ethnic origin or their descent from German nationals has been controversial. The law is codified in paragraph 1 of Article 116 of the
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, which provides access to German citizenship for anyone "who has been admitted to the territory of the German Reich within the boundaries of December 31, 1937, as a refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such person". Those territories had
a Polish minority, which also had German citizenship and
after World War II lived in Poland. These Polish people are also or and came
especially in the 1980s to Germany, see
Emigration from Poland to Germany after World War II. For example
Lukas Podolski and
Eugen Polanski became German citizens by this law. Paragraph 2 of Article 116 also provides that "Former German citizens who between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds, and their descendants, shall on application have their citizenship restored". (for example
Lukas Podolski and
Eugen Polanski), emigrated from Poland.
Ghana Ghana allows people with
African ancestry to apply for and be granted the right to stay in Ghana indefinitely, known as the Right of Abode.
Greece Various phenomena throughout Greek history (the extensive colonization by classical Greek city states, the vast expansion of Greek culture in Hellenistic times, the large dominions at times held by the Greek-speaking
Byzantine Empire, and the energetic trading activity by Greeks under the
Ottomans) all tended to create Greek communities far beyond the boundaries of modern Greece. Recognizing this situation, Greece grants citizenship to broad categories of people of ethnic Greek ancestry who are members of the Greek diaspora, including individuals and families whose ancestors have been resident in diaspora communities outside the modern state of Greece for centuries or millennia. "Foreign persons of Greek origin", who neither live in Greece nor hold
Greek citizenship nor were necessarily born there, may become Greek citizens by enlisting in Greece's military forces, under article 4 of the
Code of Greek Citizenship, as amended by the
Acquisition of Greek Nationality by Aliens of Greek Origin Law (Law 2130/1993). Anyone wishing to do so must present a number of documents, including "[a]vailable written records ... proving the Greek origin of the interested person and his ancestors".
Albania has demanded since the 1940s that Greece grant a right of return to the Muslim
Cham Albanians, who were
expelled from the Greek region of
Epirus between 1944 and 1945, at the end of
World War II – a demand firmly rejected by the Greeks (see
Cham issue).
Hungary In 2010, Hungary passed a law granting citizenship and the right of return to descendants of Hungarians living mostly on the former territory of the Kingdom of Hungary and now residing in Hungary's neighbouring countries.
Slovakia, which has 500,000 ethnic Magyar citizens (10% of its population), objected vociferously.
Ireland Present
Irish nationality law states that any person with a grandparent born on the island of Ireland can claim Irish nationality by enrollment in the
Foreign Births Register. Additionally, the law permits the Minister of Justice to waive the residency requirements for naturalization for a person of "Irish descent or Irish associations".
Israel The
Law of Return is legislation enacted by
Israel in 1950 that gives all
Jews, people of Jewish ancestry up to at least one Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to
immigrate to and settle in Israel and obtain citizenship, and obliges the Israeli government to facilitate their immigration. Originally, the law applied to Jews only, until a 1970 amendment stated that the rights "are also vested in a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew". This resulted in several hundreds of thousands of people fitting the above criteria immigrating to Israel (mainly from the
former Soviet Union) but not being recognized as Jews by the Israeli religious authorities, which on the basis of
halakha recognize only the child of a Jewish mother as being Jewish, or a
proselyte to Judaism. Moreover, some of these immigrants, though having a Jewish grandparent, are known to be practicing
Christians. People who would be otherwise eligible for this law can be excluded if they can reasonably be considered to constitute a danger to the welfare of the state, have a criminal past, or are wanted fugitives in their countries (with the exception of persecution victims). Jews who converted to another religion can also be denied the right of return. Since its inception in 1948, over three million Jews have immigrated to Israel.
Latvia According to the law passed in 2013, any person who themself or whose parent or grandparent had
Latvian or
Livonian ethnicity, did not voluntarily choose a different ethnicity and lived on Latvian territory between 1881 and 17 June 1940, may register Latvian citizenship upon providing proofing documents and passing a language exam.
Poland From the Constitution of
Poland, Article 52(5): "Anyone whose Polish origin has been confirmed in accordance with statute may settle permanently in Poland."
Portugal On April 12, 2013, the Portuguese parliament unanimously approved a measure that allows the descendants of
Jews expelled from Portugal in the 16th century to become
Portuguese citizens.
Romania Romanian citizenship can be regained or granted to individuals who were Romanian citizens and who lost it for reasons beyond their control or whose citizenship was revoked involuntarily. This legal provision also applies in the case of descendants of former Romanian citizens up to the third degree.
Russia The Russian Federation offers citizenship to individuals descended from Russian ancestors who can demonstrate an affinity for Russian culture and, preferably, speak Russian. Concern about Russia's shrinking population prompted the program. This has had a positive effect because this has not only reversed Russia's population decline but has also increased the birth rate. Officials estimate that 25 million members of the
Russian diaspora are eligible for nationality. The Foreign Ministry has sent emissaries to countries around the world to urge the descendants of Russian emigrants to return home. many of them young men looking for better education and job opportunities.
Spain Sephardi Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. Despite the requirement by general rule for obtaining Spanish nationality after five years of residence in Spain, by royal decree on 20 December 1924, Sephardi Jews can obtain Spanish nationality with two years of residence in Spain. From 1924 until 2015 Sephardi Jews living abroad could also ask the Spanish Government for a conferment of Spanish nationality, but the Government enjoyed full discretion as to the decision whether to grant Spanish nationality. On 24 June 2015, the Spanish Parliament approved the 12/2015 Act, the Law Granting the Nationality to Sephardi Jews, that grants the Spanish nationality automatically to Sephardi Jews living abroad, provided they can prove that they are descendants of the Sephardi Jews expelled in 1492. In 2007, the Spanish Parliament approved the 57/2007 Act, the Law of Historical Memory. The 57/2007 Act provides for the descendants of Spaniards living abroad that left Spain because of political persecution during the
Civil War and
Franco's dictatorship – that is the period between 1936 and 1975 – to obtain Spanish nationality. Finally, following the
Anglo-Dutch capture of Gibraltar in August 1704 during the
War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish population left, citing their loyalty to the
Bourbons and establishing themselves in the surrounding area (which has come to be known as the "
Campo de Gibraltar"). The Spanish population established institutions similar to those they maintained in Gibraltar, including the census and the archives in the City of
San Roque, which is the city "where Gibraltar lives on". Some of the population's descendants have cited the right of return in order to return to Gibraltar, although their requests have not been currently addressed by the
Spanish government.
United States of America The
Fourteenth Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution guarantees
United States citizenship to those born in the
United States of America according to
jus soli ('right of soil'), which is solely based on the place of birth. There are few exceptions, most notably- when a parent has
diplomatic immunity (i.e. not a "subject to the US law"). However, acts of Congress also provide for US citizenship for children born outside the country to a U.S. citizen under the principle of
jus sanguinis. Generally, acquisition of citizenship at birth abroad depends on whether, at the time of the child's birth, one or both of the parents was a U.S. citizen; the gender of the U.S. citizen-parent, and whether the parents were married at the time of the child's birth. Numerous courts have held that U.S. citizens, including acquired citizens, who are outside the United States have a fundamental right to return to the country. Large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants from the United States have resulted in a
diaspora of U.S. citizens, especially of
Mexican Americans. Children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants became U.S. citizens at birth and, subsequently, joined their parents in Mexico due in part to immigration enforcement. Over time, these U.S. citizens have had children of their own in Mexico, giving rise to a generation of Mexican-born children who acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. These acquired citizens struggle to prove their U.S. citizenship and have been falsely deported and imprisoned when exercising their right to return to the United States. == See also ==