Jus Sanguinis - Lex Sanguinis

Lex Sanguinis

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

• 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 foundation of Bulgaria in 1879, when large numbers of ethnic Bulgarians remained outside of the state. 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 "acquire Croatian citizenship" by making a written declaration and by submitting proof of attachment to Croatian culture.

• Estonia: Article 36 of Estonian constitution states the right of every Estonian to come and live in Estonia.

• 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.

• Germany: Article 116(1) of the German Basic Law (constitution) confers, within the range of the laws regulating the peculiarities, 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. 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 reguations, (1) and (2), provided for a considerable group of Poles and Israelis, residing in Poland and Israel, who are simultaneously Germans.

• 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 lead in Hungarian either in Hungary or at one of the Consulates abroad.

• India: A child born in India must have at least one parent who is an Indian citizen to be conferred citizenship. 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 Indian Citizenship, 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.

• Israel: In addition to Israeli citizenship being granted to all ethnic groups and religions (a) by virtue of birth in Israel or (b) by naturalisation after five years' residency and the acquisition of a basic knowledge of Hebrew, (c) 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.

• Italy: Possibly alone in this respect, Italian nationality law bestows citizenship jure sanguinis. There is no limit of generations for the citizenship via blood, but the Italian ancestor born in Italian territories before 1861 had to die after 1861 anywhere in the world without losing the Italian citizenship before death to being able to continue the jure sanguinis chain. This is required because 1861 is the year that the Unification of the Italian territory took place. Another constraint is that each descendant of the ancestor through whom citizenship is claimed jure sanguinis can pass on citizenship only if the descendant was a citizen at the time of the birth of the person to whom they are passing it. So, if any person in the chain renounces or otherwise loses the Italian citizenship and then has a child, that child is not an Italian citizen jure sanguinis. A further constraint is that until January 1, 1948, Italian law did not permit women to pass on citizenship. Persons born before that date are not Italian citizens jure sanguinis if their line of descent from an Italian citizen depends on a female at some point before 1948.

• 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 people "of sub-saharan African descent" (regardless of cultural or national affiliation) to become citizens.

• Poland: The Statute on Polish Citizenship, as amended in 2000, permits the descendants of Poles who lost their nationality involuntarily between 1920 and 1989 to take up Polish citizenship without regard to ordinary naturalization criteria.

• Rwanda: The Rwandan constitution provides that "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.

• Slovakia: A person with at least one Slovak grandparent and "Slovak cultural and language awareness" may apply for an expatriate identity card entitling him 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 domicile to Slovakia may obtain citizenship under preferential terms.

• South Korea: South Korean nationality law grants special status to some descendants of ethnic Koreans.

• Spain: Those born to an original Spaniard (whether or not the parent still retains Spanish citizenship or is still living) are entitled to original Spanish nationality. (Original Spaniards are those who were born with Spanish nationality, no matter where they were born). The grandchildren of those who emigrated due to political or economical reasons are also entitled to original Spanish nationality. Citizenship on preferential terms may be obtained after one year's residence for grandchildren of original Spanish citizens, as well as any person who can claim Sephardic Jewish ancestry. For citizens of Andorra, Portugal, Latin America, the Philippines, or Equatorial Guinea, the required residency period is two years, but it is ten years for all other foreigners.

• 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.

• 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.