Jus soli ( /dʒʌs ˈsoʊlaɪ/; [juːs ˈsɔ.liː]), meaning 'right of the soil', commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. As an unconditional basis for citizenship, it is the predominant rule in the Americas, but is rare elsewhere. Since the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was enacted in 2004, no European country grants citizenship based on unconditional jus soli. A study in 2010 found that only 30 of the world's 194 countries grant citizenship at birth to the children of undocumented foreign residents, although definitive information was not available from 19 countries.
Almost all states in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania grant citizenship at birth based upon the principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood), in which citizenship is inherited through parents not by birthplace, or a restricted version of jus soli in which citizenship by birthplace is automatic only for the children of certain immigrants. Countries that have acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness will grant nationality to otherwise stateless persons who were born on their territory, or on a ship or plane flagged by that country.
Jus soli is associated with permissive citizenship rights. Most countries with unconditional jus soli laws tend to give birthright citizenship (and nationality) based on jus sanguinis rules as well, although these stipulations tend to be more restrictive than in countries that use jus sanguinis as the primary basis for nationality.
An early form of jus soli dates from Cleisthenes' reforms of ancient Athenian law in the 6th century BC. It developed further in the Roman world, where citizenship was extended to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire by the Edict of Caracalla in AD 212.
Much later, the independence of the English colonies in America and the French Revolution in the late 18th century laid the foundations for jus soli. With the social and economic development of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the massive migrations to the Americas and Western Europe, jus soli was established in a greater and greater number of countries.
At the turn of the 19th century, nation-states commonly divided themselves between those granting nationality on the grounds of jus soli (France, for example) and those granting it on the grounds of jus sanguinis (Germany, for example, before 1990). However, since 2007 the European migrant crisis has focused attention on these two conflicting sources of nationality rights.
Lex soli is a law used in practice to regulate who and under what circumstances an individual can assert the right of jus soli. Most states provide a specific lex soli, in application of the respective jus soli, and it is the most common means of acquiring nationality. A frequent exception to lex soli is imposed when a child was born to a parent in the diplomatic or consular service of another state, on a mission to the state in question.
Antigua and Barbuda: Guaranteed by the Constitution. However, one government official told the Center for Immigration Studies that the country's current effort to tighten immigration policies may include an end to automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
Argentina
Barbados: Guaranteed by the Constitution. However, the Barbados Ministry of Labour & Immigration recently proposed ending automatic birthright citizenship.
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Costa Rica (requires registration with the Costa Rican government before the age of twenty-five)
Dominica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Fiji
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Jamaica
Lesotho
Mexico
Nicaragua
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Tanzania
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
United States: The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." The phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" excludes children born to foreign diplomats and children born to enemy forces engaged in hostile occupation of the country's territory.
Uruguay
Venezuela
There is a trend in some countries toward restricting lex 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, or requiring that at least one parent have resided in the country for a specific period of time. Modification of jus soli has been criticized as contributing to economic inequality, the perpetuation of unfree labour from a helot underclass, and statelessness. Jus soli has been restricted in the following countries:
Australia: Since 20 August 1986, a person born in Australia acquires Australian citizenship by birth only if at least one parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident or after living the first ten years of their life in Australia regardless of their parent's citizenship status (see Australian nationality law).
Bahrain: Children born to a foreign father with valid residency permits who himself was born in Bahrain have right to citizenship.
Cambodia: In 1996, Cambodia changed the law to only grant citizenship to children born to foreign parents living legally in the Kingdom of Cambodia (under Article 4(2)(a) of the 1996 Nationality Law).
Chile: The 1980 Constitution changed the Chilean nationality law to require that children born in Chile of non-citizen parents must request citizenship and that this request be approved by the government.
Colombia: a person born in Colombia with at least one parent being a Colombian citizen or resident is automatically a Colombian citizen (see Colombian nationality law).
Dominican Republic: 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).
Egypt: According to Article 4 of nationality law of the Arab Republic of Egypt, persons born in Egypt gain citizenship at birth if the father also was born in Egypt.
France: Children born in France (including overseas territories) to at least one foreign parent who is also born in France automatically acquire French citizenship at birth. Children born to foreign parents may request citizenship depending on their age and length of residence (see French nationality law).
Germany: An exception to the increasing restrictiveness toward birthright citizenship, Germany, prior to 2000, had its nationality law based entirely on jus sanguinis. Now, children born 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 had this status for at least three years) and the parent was residing in Germany for at least eight years.
Greece: Apart from regulations in past and historic nationality laws of Greece granting nationality jus soli, 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 Cod (Law 4332 of 2015, G.G. A/76/09 July 2015), a child born in Greece by foreign parents, shall acquire the right of Greek nationality with a combination of preliminary 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.
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. Furthermore, persons of Chinese ethnicity (wholly or partly) born in Hong Kong are PRC citizens with permanent residence, even if their parents are non-PRC citizens (e.g. overseas-born Chinese). Non-PRC citizens born to non-PRC citizen permanent resident parents in Hong Kong also receive permanent residence 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)).
Iran: 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. See Iranian nationality law.
Ireland: On 1 January 2005, the law was amended to require that at least one of the parents be an Irish citizen; a British citizen; a child of a resident with a permanent right to reside in Ireland or In Northern Ireland; or be a child of a legal resident residing three of the last four years in the country (excluding students and asylum seekers) (see Irish nationality law). The amendment was prompted by the case of Man Chen, a Chinese woman living in mainland United Kingdom who travelled to Belfast (Northern Ireland, part of the UK) to give birth in order to benefit from the previous rule whereby anyone born on any part of the island of Ireland was automatically granted Irish citizenship. The Chinese parents used their daughter's Irish (and thereby European Union) citizenship to obtain permanent residence in the UK as parents of a dependent EU citizen.
Malaysia: a person born in Malaysia on or after 16 September 1963 with at least one parent being a Malaysian citizen or permanent resident is automatically a Malaysian citizen (see Malaysian nationality law).
Morocco: A person who was born in Morocco to parents also born in Morocco lands and whose immigration is legal, can register as a Moroccan two years prior to becoming adult.
Namibia: 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).
New Zealand: Since 1 January 2006 a person born in New Zealand acquires New Zealand citizenship by birth only if at least one parent was a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident (includes Australian citizens and Permanent Residents) (see New Zealand nationality law), or if to prevent being stateless.
Portugal: A child born in Portuguese territory to who does 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 legally resided in Portugal for at least five years at the time of birth.
South Africa: Since 6 October 1995 a person born in South Africa to South African citizens or permanent residents are automatically granted South African citizenship (see South African nationality law).
Spain: A child born in Spain to foreign parents may acquire Spanish citizenship jus soli if either one of the parents is a permanent resident and legally domiciled in Spain at the moment of the child's birth.
Sudan: A person born before 1994 gains Sudanese nationality at birth if his father was also born in Sudan. If his father was not born in Sudan, he can apply to the Minister to be granted Sudanese nationality.
Thailand: Thailand operated a system of pure jus soli prior to 1972, but afterwards, due to illegal immigration from Burma, the Nationality Act was amended to require that both parents be legally resident and domiciled in Thailand for at least five years in order 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 do not apply to people who have Thai citizenship by virtue of jus sanguinis.
Tunisia: 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 he wants to be a citizen.
United Kingdom: Since 1 January 1983, at least one parent must be a British citizen or be legally "settled" in the country or upon the 10th birthday of the child regardless of their parent's citizenship status (see British nationality law).
Some countries which formerly observed jus soli have moved to abolish it entirely, conferring citizenship on children born in the country only if one of the parents is a citizen of that country.
India: Abolished jus soli on 3 December 2004, in reaction to illegal immigration from its neighbor Bangladesh. Jus soli had already been progressively weakened in India since 1987.
Malta: Changed the principle of citizenship to jus sanguinis on 1 August 1989 in a move that also relaxed restrictions against multiple citizenship.
