Jus sanguinis

Jus sanguinis (Latin: right of blood) is a principle of nationality law by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth but by having one or both parents who are citizens of the state. Children at birth may automatically be citizens if their parents have state citizenship or national identities of ethnic, cultural, or other origins.^[1] Citizenship can also apply to children whose parents belong to a diaspora and were not themselves citizens of the state conferring citizenship. This principle contrasts with jus soli (Latin: right of soil).^[2]

Modern development

At the end of the 19th century, the French-German debate on nationality saw the French, such as Ernest Renan, oppose the German conception, exemplified by Johann Fichte, who believed in an "objective nationality", based on blood, race or language. Renan's republican conception, but perhaps also the presence of a German-speaking population in Alsace-Lorraine, explains France's early adoption of jus soli.

Mixed standards

Many nations have a mixture of jus sanguinis and jus soli, including the United States, Canada, Israel, Greece, Ireland, and recently Germany.

Today France only narrowly applies jus sanguinis, but it is still the most common means of passing on citizenship in many continental European countries.

Complications due to imposed boundaries

Some modern European states which arose out of the dissolved Austro-Hungarian or Ottoman empires have huge numbers of ethnic populations outside of their new 'national' boundaries, as do most of the former Soviet states. Such long-standing diasporas do not conform to codified 20th-century European rules of citizenship.

In many cases, jus sanguinis rights are mandated by international treaty, with citizenship definitions imposed by the international community. In other cases, minorities are subject to legal and extra-legal persecution and choose to immigrate to their ancestral home country. States offering jus sanguinis rights to ethnic citizens and their descendants include Italy, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Armenia and Romania. Each is required by international treaty to extend those rights.

Political issues

In recent years, the Gulf Cooperation Council states have ensured that nationality is not easily awarded to residents and expatriates, unless they have some ethnic connection. This is mainly because they fear that a larger population could be a threat to the existing political systems in these countries. In the workplace, preferential treatment is given to full citizens. State benefits are also generally available for citizens only and not residents.^[3]

Jus sanguinis states today

•  Canada: Under Canadian nationality law any person born to a Canadian citizen parent is automatically a Canadian citizen.^[4] An exception to this was introduced in 2009 to limit citizenship by descent to one generation born outside Canada: those born outside Canada within one generation of a native-born or naturalized citizen parent are Canadian citizens by descent, but their children are no longer granted citizenship by descent.^[5]
•  China: Nationality law of the People's Republic of China
•  Estonia: Article 8 of Estonian constitution states every child with one parent who is an Estonian citizen shall have the right, by birth, to Estonian citizenship.
•  Germany: Article 116(1) of the German Basic Law confers, within the confines of the laws regulating the details, a right to citizenship upon any person who is admitted to Germany (in its borders of 1937) as "refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such a person." At one time, ethnic Germans living abroad in a country in the former Eastern Bloc (Aussiedler) could obtain citizenship through a virtually automatic procedure.^[6] Since 1990 the law has been steadily tightened to limit the number of immigrants each year. It now requires immigrants to prove language skills and cultural affiliation. Article 116(2) entitles persons (and their descendants), who were denaturalised by the Nazi government, to be renaturalised if they wish. Those among them who took their residence in Germany after May 8, 1945, are automatically to be considered as Germans. Both regulations, (1) and (2), provided for a considerable group of Poles and Israelis, residing in Poland and Israel, who are concurrently Germans.
•  Haiti: Every child born to a Haitian father or mother, no matter where he or she was born, is Haitian by the Haitian Constitution. This has been a big issue in the current Dominican nationality law; because of this and other factors, illegal migrants' children born in the DR of Haitian origin are considered non-Dominicans, and therefore Haitians.
•  India: A child born in India must have at least one parent who is an Indian citizen to be conferred citizenship. Earlier on, people born in India were given citizenship regardless of the citizenship held by parents, but this was later changed, in response to illegal immigration from Bangladesh. Persons with at least one Indian grandparent may apply for a Person of Indian Origin card, provided that neither the applicant nor any ancestor has ever been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, or China. The government may add other countries to the list. This card is a travel document and permits the holder to enter and stay in India without a visa, work, start a business, own land, and attend educational institutions, but it does not give the right to vote or hold office. In addition, persons of Indian origin who are nationals of countries not on the list may apply for Overseas citizenship of India, which confers similar rights and also permits the holder to apply for full Indian nationality after one year of residence.
•  Ireland: Under Irish nationality law, any person with an Irish grandparent can become an Irish citizen by being registered in the Foreign Births Register at an Irish embassy or consular office, or at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin. Such an individual may also pass his entitlement to Irish nationality on to his children by registering in the Foreign Births Register, provided he or she registered as an Irish citizen with the Foreign Births Register before the birth of those children. The minister may also waive the usual requirements for naturalisation as an Irish citizen for those of "Irish descent or Irish associations" although this power is rarely used.
•  Iran: According to the Iranian nationality law the following persons are considered to be Iranian subjects: (1) All persons residing in Iran except those whose foreign nationality is established; the foreign nationality of such persons is considered to be established if their documents of nationality have not been objected to by the Iranian Government. (2) Those born in Iran or outside whose fathers are Iranian. (3) Those born in Iran of unknown parentage.(4)Persons born in Iran of foreign parents, one of whom was also born in Iran. (5) Persons 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. (6) Every woman of foreign nationality who marries an Iranian husband. (7) Every foreign national who has obtained Iranian nationality.^[7]
•  Japan:^[8] Japanese nationality law
•  Malta: Maltese nationality law grants citizenship to any person descended from "an ascendant who was born in Malta of a parent who was also born in Malta."
•  Mexico The Mexican Consitution (Article 30) indicates that Mexicans are also persons born abroad, to a parent or parents who at that time were Mexicans born in Mexican territory. Also, a person born abroad is also Mexican, if at the time of birth either or both parents were Mexicans by naturalization. Mexico’s Constitution considers them Mexicans by birth.
•  Philippines: The Philippine nationality law is based upon the principles of jus sanguinis (Latin: right of blood) and therefore descent from a parent who is a citizen or national of the Republic of the Philippines is the primary method of acquiring Philippine citizenship.
•  Poland: The definition of Polish citizenship has been based for years on article 34 of the Polish Constitution; this article is based on a jus sanguinis right to citizenship.^[9] Moreover, any child born by Polish parent(s) is a de jure citizen of Poland. In 1967–1968 the Communist State issued Jews emigrating from Poland to Israel a so-called travel document (reading that the bearer of the travel document for exit from Poland without the right to return) instead of passports, in effect taking away their Polish citizenship for having supposedly, in emigrating or traveling to Israel, denounced it themselves. In a 2005 verdict, the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland ruled that this action was illegal based on the state of law at that time. Consequently, it is now assumed the Jews who emigrated after 1968 have remained Polish citizens and their citizenship will be certified on request.^[10]
•  Slovakia: Persons with at least one Slovak grandparent and "Slovak cultural and language awareness" may apply for an expatriate identity card entitling them to live, work, study and own land in Slovakia. Expatriate status is not full citizenship and does not entitle the holder to vote, but a holder who moves his or her domicile to Slovakia may obtain citizenship under preferential terms. Slovakia grants full Slovak citizenship to children of Slovak parents (one or both parents) irrespective of the place of birth.
•  South Korea: South Korean nationality law
•   Switzerland: Swiss nationality law
•  Thailand: Thai nationality law
•  Tunisia: When one of the parents is Tunisian, a child is considered Tunisian regardless of the child’s place of birth or whether the child had acquired the nationality of another country. Children with at least one Tunisian parent, no matter where they are born, are considered Tunisian citizens, and must travel to and from Tunisia only with a Tunisian passport.
•  Ukraine: Article 8 of the Law on Citizenship of Ukraine permits any person with at least one Ukrainian grandparent to become a citizen upon renunciation of the former nationality.

Leges sanguinis states today

Many countries provide immigration privileges to individuals with ethnic ties to these countries (so-called leges sanguinis):

•  Afghanistan: Connection to the Afghan diaspora. There have been controversial proposals to people of Pashtun origin.
•  Armenia: Article 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia (1995) provides that "individuals of Armenian origin shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Armenia through a simplified procedure."^[11] 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".
•  Bulgaria: Article 25 of the 1991 constitution specifies that a "person of Bulgarian origin shall acquire Bulgarian citizenship through a facilitated procedure." Article 15 of the Law on Bulgarian Citizenship provides that an individual "of Bulgarian origin" (ethnicity) may be naturalized without any waiting period and without having to show a source of income, knowledge of the Bulgarian language, or renunciation of his former citizenship. This approach has been a tradition since the new constitutional foundation of Bulgaria in 1879, following the liberation from Ottoman yoke in 1878, when large numbers of ethnic Bulgarians remained outside of the state borders. Bulgaria and Greece were subject to a population exchange following the Second Balkan War. The conditions of the treaty settlement mandated that they accept individuals claiming respective ethnic origin.
•  Croatia: Article 11 of the Law on Croatian Citizenship allows emigrants and their descendants to acquire Croatian nationality upon return, without passing a language examination or renouncing former citizenship. In addition, Article 16 allows ethnic Croatians living outside Croatia to "acquire Croatian citizenship" by making a written declaration and by submitting proof of attachment to Croatian culture.
•  Finland: Finnish law provides a right of return to ethnic Finns from the former Soviet Union, including Ingrians. Applicants must now pass an examination in one of the official languages of the country, Finnish or Swedish. Certain persons of Finnish descent who live outside the former Soviet Union also have the right to establish permanent residency, which would eventually entitle them to qualify for citizenship.
•  Greece: Ethnic Greeks can obtain Greek citizenship by two methods under the Code of Greek Nationality. Article 5 allows ethnic Greeks who are stateless (which, in practice, includes those who voluntarily renounce their nationality) to obtain citizenship upon application to a Greek consular official. In addition, ethnic Greeks who join the armed forces acquire automatic citizenship by operation of Article 10, with the military oath taking the place of the citizenship oath. This position arises from the fact that approximately 85% of known ethnic Greeks were outside the boundaries when the country was formed, and 40% remained outside the final boundaries at the beginning of World War I. Most were de jure stripped of their host country citizenship with the outbreak of war if the host country was at war with Greece. In the late 19th century, Greece had a wider diaspora because of poverty and limited opportunities.
•  Hungary: Section 4(3) of the Act on Nationality permits ethnic Hungarians (defined as persons "at least one of whose relatives in ascendant line was a Hungarian citizen") to obtain citizenship on preferential terms after one year of residence. In addition, the "Status Law" of 2001 grants certain privileges to ethnic Hungarians living in territories that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It permits them to obtain an identification card but does not confer the right to full Hungarian citizenship. According to the latest Citizenship Law adopted in 2010, anybody, possessing certain evidences (certificates, documents) of his or her Hungarian roots from around the World can apply for Hungarian Citizenship. The interview is led in Hungarian either in Hungary or at one of the Consulates abroad.
•  Ireland While the child or a grandchild of an Irish citizen parent is automatically Irish, Section 16(a) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act permits the Minister of Justice, at their discretion, to waive the residence requirements for a person "of Irish descent or associations".
•  Israel: The Law of Return confers an automatic right to citizenship on any immigrant to Israel who is Jewish by birth or conversion, or who has a Jewish parent, grandparent or spouse or who is the spouse of a child of a Jew or the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew. Certain exceptions can be made for those considered by the Minister of Interior to be a threat to the welfare or security of the state. Israeli law also recognizes the descendants of Israeli emigrants living abroad as Israelis; this applies only to the first generation born abroad. All other immigrants can be naturalized as citizens after five years' of residency and acquisition of a basic knowledge of Hebrew.
•  Italy: The nationality law of Italy bestows citizenship jure sanguinis. There is no limit of generations for the citizenship via blood. However, the first citizens of the modern Italian state were alive on 17 March 1861 when the state was officially formed, and for this reason all claims of Italian citizenship by jure sanguinis must stem from an ancestor who was living after 16 March 1861. Each descendant of the ancestor through whom citizenship is claimed jure sanguinis could pass Italian citizenship to the next generation only if this descendant was entitled to Italian citizenship at the time of the birth of the next person in the line. So if any person in the line lost the Italian citizenship and then had a child, that child did not inherit Italian citizenship jure sanguinis, except if the child could inherit the citizenship from the other parent. Cases of dual citizenship were possible, which is to say, for example, that a person in the line could have had Italian and Canadian citizenship concurrently. Minor children of Italian citizens were at risk of losing Italian citizenship if the child's parent naturalized in another country, unless the child was subject to an exception to this risk—and children born and residing in a country where they held dual citizenship by jus soli were subject to such an exception since 1 July 1912. Until 1 January 1948, Italian law did not generally permit women to pass on citizenship. Persons born before that date are in most cases not Italian citizens jure sanguinis if their line of descent from an Italian citizen depends on a female at some point before 1948. On several occasions, this limitation of deriving Italian citizenship only from fathers before 1948 has been successfully challenged in court.
•  Kiribati: Articles 19 and 23 of the constitution provides, "Every person of I-Kiribati descent... shall... become or have and continue to have thereafter the right to become a citizen of Kiribati.... Every person of I-Kiribati descent who does not become a citizen of Kiribati on Independence Day... shall, at any time thereafter, be entitled upon making application in such manner as may be prescribed to be registered as a citizen of Kiribati."
•  Liberia: the Liberian constitution allows only Negros (regardless of cultural or national affiliation) to become citizens, though people of other races may live in Liberia as permanent residents.^[12]
•  Lithuania: The Constitution of Lithuania grants a right to citizenship to foreigners of ethnic Lithuanian origins.^[13]
•  Rwanda: The Rwandan constitution provides that "[a]ll persons originating from Rwanda and their descendants shall, upon their request, be entitled to Rwandan nationality."
•  Serbia: Article 23 of the 2004 citizenship law provides that the descendants of emigrants from Serbia, or ethnic Serbs residing abroad, may take up citizenship upon written declaration.
•  Spain: A Spanish law passed in 2015 allows individuals who can prove descent from the Sephardic Jews who were exiled in 1492 following the Alhambra Decree and who can show a "special link" to Spain to apply for dual citizenship. Spain had previously allowed application for such individuals but had required that they give up their citizenship from their other country. The new law has no such requirement.^[14]
•  South Korea: South Korean nationality law grants special status to some descendants of ethnic South Koreans.
•  Turkey: Turkish law allows persons of Turkish origin and their spouse and children, to apply for naturalization without the five-year waiting period applicable to other immigrants. Turkey and Greece reciprocally expelled their minorities in the early 1920s after World War I. They were mandated by international treaty to accept incoming populations as citizens based on ethnic background.

See also

• Blood quantum laws
• Bumiputra
• Diaspora politics
• Ethnic nepotism
• Indigenous rights
• Nativism
• Repatriation laws
• Right of return

Sources