European Convention on Nationality

 

Chapter I – General matters

Article 1 – Object of the Convention

This Convention establishes principles and rules relating to the nationality of
natural persons and rules regulating military obligations in cases of multiple
nationality, to which the internal law of States Parties shall conform.

Article 2 – Definitions

For the purpose of this Convention:

a “nationality” means the legal bond between a person and a State and does not
indicate the person’s ethnic origin;

b “multiple nationality” means the simultaneous possession of two or more
nationalities by the same person;

c “child”means every person below the age of 18 years unless, under the law
applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier;

d “internal law”means all types of provisions of the national legal system,
including the constitution, legislation, regulations, decrees, case-law,
customary rules and practice as well as rules deriving from binding
international instruments.

Chapter II – General principles relating to nationality

Article 3 – Competence of the State

1 Each State shall determine under its own law who are its nationals.

2 This law shall be accepted by other States in so far as it is consistent with
applicable international conventions, Customary International Law and the
principles of law generally recognised with regard to nationality.

Article 4 – Principles

The rules on nationality of each State Party shall be based on the following
principles:

a everyone has the right to a nationality;

b statelessness shall be avoided;

c no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality;
d neither marriage nor the dissolution of a marriage between a national of a
State Party and an alien, nor the change of nationality by one of the spouses
during marriage, shall automatically affect the nationality of the other spouse.

Article 5 – Non-discrimination

1 The rules of a State Party on nationality shall not contain distinctions or
include any practice which amount to discrimination on the grounds of sex,
religion, race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

2 Each State Party shall be guided by the principle of non-discrimination
between its nationals, whether they are nationals by birth or have acquired its
nationality subsequently.

Chapter III – Rules relating to nationality

Article 6 – Acquisition of nationality

1 Each State Party shall provide in its internal law for its nationality to be
acquired ex lege by the following persons:

a children one of whose parents possesses, at the time of the birth of these
children, the nationality of that State Party, subject to any exceptions which
may be provided for by its internal law as regards children born abroad. With
respect to children whose parenthood is established by recognition, court order
or similar procedures, each State Party may provide that the child acquires its
nationality following the procedure determined by its internal law;

b foundlings found in its territory who would otherwise be stateless.

2 Each State Party shall provide in its internal law for its nationality to be
acquired by children born on its territory who do not acquire at birth another
nationality. Such nationality shall be granted:

a at birth ex lege; or

b subsequently, to children who remained stateless, upon an application being
lodged with the appropriate authority, by or on behalf of the child concerned,
in the manner prescribed by the internal law of the State Party. Such an
application may be made subject to the lawful and habitual residence on its
territory for a period not exceeding five years immediately preceding the
lodging of the application.

3 Each State Party shall provide in its internal law for the possibility of
naturalisation of persons lawfully and habitually resident on its territory. In
establishing the conditions for naturalisation, it shall not provide for a
period of residence exceeding ten years before the lodging of an application.

4 Each State Party shall facilitate in its internal law the acquisition of its
nationality for the following persons:

a spouses of its nationals;
b children of one of its nationals, falling under the exception of Article 6,
paragraph 1, sub-paragraph a;

c children one of whose parents acquires or has acquired its nationality;

d children adopted by one of its nationals;

e persons who were born on its territory and reside there lawfully and
habitually;

f persons who are lawfully and habitually resident on its territory for a period
of time beginning before the age of 18, that period to be determined by the
internal law of the State Party concerned;

g stateless persons and recognised Refugees lawfully and habitually resident on
its territory.

Article 7 – Loss of nationality ex lege or at the initiative of a State Party

1 A State Party may not provide in its internal law for the loss of its
nationality ex lege or at the initiative of the State Party except in the
following cases:

a voluntary acquisition of another nationality;

b acquisition of the nationality of the State Party by means of fraudulent
conduct, false information or concealment of any relevant fact attributable to
the applicant;

c voluntary service in a foreign military force;

d conduct seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the State Party;

e lack of a genuine link between the State Party and a national habitually
residing abroad;

f where it is established during the minority of a child that the preconditions
laid down by internal law which led to the ex lege acquisition of the
nationality of the State Party are no longer fulfilled;

g adoption of a child if the child acquires or possesses the foreign nationality
of one or both of the adopting parents.

2 A State Party may provide for the loss of its nationality by children whose
parents lose that nationality except in cases covered by sub-paragraphs c and d
of paragraph 1. However, children shall not lose that nationality if one of
their parents retains it.

3 A State Party may not provide in its internal law for the loss of its
nationality under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article if the person concerned
would thereby become stateless, with the exception of the cases mentioned in
paragraph 1, sub-paragraph b, of this article.
Article 8 – Loss of nationality at the initiative of the individual

1 Each State Party shall permit the renunciation of its nationality provided the
persons concerned do not thereby become stateless.

2 However, a State Party may provide in its internal law that renunciation may
be effected only by nationals who are habitually resident abroad.

Article 9 – Recovery of nationality

Each State Party shall facilitate, in the cases and under the conditions
provided for by its internal law, the recovery of its nationality by former
nationals who are lawfully and habitually resident on its territory.

Chapter IV – Procedures relating to nationality

Article 10 – Processing of applications

Each State Party shall ensure that applications relating to the acquisition,
retention, loss, recovery or certification of its nationality be processed
within a reasonable time.

Article 11 – Decisions

Each State Party shall ensure that decisions relating to the acquisition,
retention, loss, recovery or certification of its nationality contain reasons in
writing.

Article 12 – Right to a review

Each State Party shall ensure that decisions relating to the acquisition,
retention, loss, recovery or certification of its nationality be open to an
administrative or judicial review in conformity with its internal law.

Article 13 – Fees

1 Each State Party shall ensure that the fees for the acquisition, retention,
loss, recovery or certification of its nationality be reasonable.

2 Each State Party shall ensure that the fees for an administrative or judicial
review be not an obstacle for applicants.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Customary International Law, European Convention on Nationality 2, European Convention on Nationality 3, International Conventions from 1991, Refugees.