There is a trend in some countries toward restricting
jus soli by requiring that at least one of the child's parents be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the state in question at time of the child's birth. Modification of
jus soli has been criticized as contributing to economic inequality, the perpetuation of
unfree labour from a
helot underclass • : A person who was born in Morocco to parents also born in Morocco and whose immigration is legal, can register as a Moroccan two years prior to becoming adult. • : A person born in Namibia to a Namibian citizen parent or a foreign parent who is ordinarily resident in Namibia, is a Namibian citizen at birth (see
Namibian nationality law). • : A person born in São Tomé and Príncipe acquires São Toméan nationality, as long as the parents are residents of the country. The only exception is if any of the parents have diplomatic immunity (see
São Toméan nationality law). • : • : The
Tanzania Citizenship Act of 1995, states that "any child born within the borders of the United Republic of Tanzania, on or after Union Day, 26 April 1964, is granted citizenship of Tanzania, except for children of a father who has diplomatic immunity, or parents who were enemy aliens and the territory was under enemy occupation." While Tanzania technically observes birthright citizenship, it is official practice that birth in Tanzania has to be further supported by descent from a Tanzanian parent to be recognized as a citizen by birth. This practice has gone uncontested in courts of law. • : Individuals born in Tunisia are citizens by birth if their father and grandfather were born in Tunisia. Additionally, the person must declare before becoming an adult (20 years) that they want to be a citizen.
North America • :
The constitution was amended on 26 January 2010. The amendment broadened the definition of the 2004 migration law – which excluded from citizenship children born to individuals that were "in transit" – to include "non-residents" (including individuals with expired residency visas and undocumented workers).
South America • : Article 96 of the
constitution grants Colombian nationality by birth provided that at least one of the parents is a Colombian national or a legal resident. By presidential decree, in August 2019 nationality was granted to children of Venezuelan migrants born in Colombia regardless of residential status of their parents.
Asia • : Article 52 of the constitution of Azerbaijan states that a person born on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan; although in practice that provision is not enforced, and persons are only granted citizenship by right based on the other provision within the article, which states that a person of whom one parent is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan. • : Children born to a foreign father with valid residency permits who himself was born in Bahrain have right to citizenship. • : In 1996, Cambodia changed the law to grant citizenship to children born in Cambodia to foreign parents if both parents were born in Cambodia and are living legally in Cambodia (under Article 4(2)(a) of the 1996 Nationality Law). • : China has strict nationality laws that limit
jus soli citizenship to children born to stateless parents who have settled in China. •
Hong Kong: Since the July 1997
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, most political rights and eligibility for most benefits are conferred to permanent residents regardless of citizenship. Conversely, PRC citizens who are not permanent residents (such as residents of
Mainland China and
Macao) are not conferred these rights and privileges. The
Basic Law provides that all
citizens of the
People's Republic of China (PRC) born in the territory are permanent residents of the territory and have the
right of abode in Hong Kong. The 2001 case
Director of Immigration v. Chong Fung Yuen clarified that the parents need not have right of abode and as a consequence many women from Mainland China began coming to Hong Kong to give birth. By 2008, the number of babies in the territory born to Mainland China mothers had grown to twenty-five times the number five years prior. Non-PRC citizens born to non-PRC citizen Hong Kong permanent resident parents in Hong Kong also receive permanent residence of Hong Kong at birth. Other persons must have "ordinarily resided" in Hong Kong for seven continuous years in order to gain permanent residence (Articles 24(2) and 24(5)). • : Indonesian citizenship by birth includes those born anywhere whose parents are both Indonesian nationals, or any person born in Indonesia with at least one Indonesian citizen parent, or a child born in Indonesia to unknown parents, or those born out of wedlock. Citizenship can also be granted to a permanent resident who has lived in Indonesia for a given period of time through naturalization, as long as the parents are stateless, or unknown. • : Article 976(4) of the Civil Code of Iran grants citizenship at birth to persons born in Iran of foreign parents if one or both of the parents were themselves born in Iran. Article 976(5) People born in Iran of a father of foreign nationality who have resided at least one more year in Iran immediately after reaching the full age of 18; in other cases their naturalization as Iranian subjects will be subject to the stipulations for Iranian naturalization laid down by the law. New legislation passed by the Iranian Parliament in 2012 grants permanent residency to children born to Iranian mothers and foreign fathers. See
Iranian nationality law. • : Children born in Israel who have never acquired another citizenship are eligible to apply for Israeli citizenship between their 18th and 21st birthday if they have lived in Israel for over 5 years (see
Israeli citizenship law). • : Children born in Japan to stateless or unknown parents are Japanese nationals at birth. •
Macau: Similar to Hong Kong, most political rights and eligibility for most benefits are conferred to permanent residents regardless of citizenship since the December 1999
transfer of sovereignty over Macau, according to the
Basic Law of Macau. Becoming a Macau permanent resident has slightly different requirements depending on an individual's nationality. Acquisition by birth operates on a modified
jus soli basis; individuals born in Macau to Chinese nationals or to Portuguese citizens
domiciled there are automatically permanent residents, while those born to other foreign nationals must have at least one parent who possesses right of abode (see
Right of abode in Macau). • : A person born in Malaysia on or after 16 September 1963 with at least one parent being a Malaysian citizen or is automatically a Malaysian citizen (see
Malaysian nationality law). •
Mongolia: A person born in Mongolia to foreign parents with valid residency permits can apply for Mongolian nationality when they turn the age of 16. A child in Mongolian territory with unidentified parents can receive Mongolian citizenship (see
Mongolian nationality law). • : Any child born to parents with
Taiwanese citizenship, even those living abroad, can acquire Taiwanese nationality at birth. Children born in Taiwan to stateless parents or have unknown parentage are considered Taiwanese nationals at birth (see
Taiwanese nationality law). • : Thailand operated a system of pure
jus soli prior to 1972. Due to illegal immigration from Burma, the Nationality Act was amended by requiring both parents to legally reside and be domiciled in Thailand for at least five years for their child to be granted Thai citizenship at birth. Furthermore, someone who has Thai citizenship by sole virtue of
jus soli may be stripped of Thai citizenship under various conditions (such as living abroad), which does not apply to people who have Thai citizenship by virtue of
jus sanguinis.
Europe • : Children born in France (including
overseas territories) to at least one parent who is either (i) a French national or (ii) born in France, are automatically granted French nationality at birth. Children born in France to foreign parents who do not fulfil either of these two conditions may acquire citizenship from age 13 subject to residence conditions (see
French nationality law). A child born in France to foreign parents becomes a French citizen automatically upon turning 18, provided that they reside in France on their 18th birthday and have had their primary residence in France for a total (but not necessarily continuous) period of at least 5 years since the age of 11. Children born in France to two
stateless parents receive French nationality automatically at birth. • : Prior to 2000, Germany's
nationality law was based entirely on
jus sanguinis, but now children born in Germany on or after 1 January 2000 to non-German parents acquire German citizenship at birth if at least one parent has a permanent residence permit and resided in Germany for at least five years prior to the child's birth. •
Greece: Apart from regulations in past and historic nationality laws of Greece granting nationality
jus soli, the
Greek Nationality Code of 2004 states that "A person born in Greek territory acquires by birth the Greek nationality if not acquiring alien nationality or is of unknown nationality". Additionally, as from 2015's amendment of 2004 Code (Law 4332 of 2015, G.G. A/76/9 July 2015), a child born in Greece by foreign parents shall acquire the right of Greek nationality with a combination of primary school attendance and parents' legal residence in Greece (5 years, 10 if the child is born prior to 5 years of legal residence). One year after the implementation of the law (as from July 2016), 6,029 children had been granted Greek nationality, out of 27,720 submitted applications. • : In 2005,
Irish nationality law was amended to require that at least one of the parents be an Irish citizen; a British citizen; a resident with a permanent right to reside in the Republic of Ireland or in Northern Ireland; or a legal resident residing three of the last four years in the country (excluding students and asylum seekers). • : The law that regulates this right is n. 91 of 5 February 1992. Article 4 paragraph 2 grants this possibility to a person born in Italy, who has legally resided there without interruption until reaching the age of 18, and becomes a citizen if they declare that they wish to acquire Italian citizenship within one year from the aforementioned date. They can make use of this right by submitting a simple declaration of will to the Civil Status Office of their municipality of residence. It is important to know that the Municipality of belonging is required, according to article 33 of Law 98/2013, to inform foreign citizens, during the 6 months preceding the age of 18, of the possibility of applying for Italian citizenship by the age of 19. In the absence of such communication, the request can be made even after the age of 19. In the event that, despite having been born in Italy, one has not had continuous residence from birth, but has resided in Italy for at least three years, at the age of 18, the application can be presented at the Prefecture with all the necessary documentation. Furthermore, in application of art. 1 of the same law and which aims to prevent statelessness, in Italy the
jus soli is applied in other cases: – by birth in Italy of unknown or stateless parents; – by birth on Italian territory of foreign parents unable to transmit their citizenship to the subject according to the law of the country of origin; – the child of unknown persons found in the territory of the Republic is considered a citizen by birth, if the possession of another citizenship is not proven. • : A person born since 1 January 2020 in Latvia or to Latvian-resident parents defaults to Latvian citizenship, although the child can instead gain a different citizenship at birth if both parents agree on this; if either parent is a citizen of another country, the parents must submit documentation disclaiming any other birthright citizenship the child would otherwise be entitled to in order for the child to be recognized as a Latvian citizen by
jus soli. • : A person born in Luxembourg is automatically a
Luxembourg citizen if at least one of their parents was also born in Luxembourg. Additionally, a person born in Luxembourg to foreign, non-Luxembourg-born parents can become a Luxembourg citizen from the age of 12 if they have resided uninterrupted in Luxembourg for at least 5 years immediately prior to submitting the application, and if at least one of their parents lived in Luxembourg uninterrupted for at least 12 months immediately preceding their birth. Furthermore, a person born in Luxembourg to foreign, non-Luxembourg-born parents gains Luxembourg citizenship automatically upon reaching the age of 18, provided that they have lived uninterrupted in Luxembourg for the preceding 5 years and at least one of their parents lived uninterrupted in Luxembourg for at least 12 months immediately preceding their birth. • : A child born in Portuguese territory to parents who do not possess another nationality is a Portuguese citizen. Also, a person born to foreign parents who were not serving their respective states at the time of birth is a Portuguese citizen if the person declares that they want to be Portuguese and provided that one of the parents has resided in Portugal for at least one year at the time of birth. • : A child born in Spain to foreign parents may acquire Spanish citizenship
jus soli under certain conditions, for example, if either one of the parents was also born in Spain or if neither of the parents can transmit their nationality to the child (such as stateless parents). • : A child born on the territory of Ukraine may acquire Ukrainian citizenship
jus soli, if they do not acquire foreign nationality by
jus sanguinis from parents, or if their parents have been granted refugee or asylum status in Ukraine, or if the child is stateless or of unknown nationality (see Ukrainian citizenship law, articles 6 and 7). • :
Jus soli citizenship was abolished by the
British Nationality Act of 1981. Between 1 January 1983 and 1 July 2006, children born out of wedlock to foreign (non-British) women and British men were not eligible for citizenship unless the mother was legally "settled" in the country. Beginning in 2006, British fathers could automatically pass on their nationality to children born out of wedlock. In 2015, this change was made retroactive, granting citizenship to out-of-wedlock children born prior to 2006. Under the current law, if neither parent is British or settled, then a child born in the UK can apply for British citizenship if they have spent the first ten years of their life in the UK (see
British nationality law).
Oceania • : • (): People born in
American Samoa do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth, unless one of their parents is a U.S. citizen. == Abolition ==