Citizenship by Birth in Europe: Parentage, Residency, and Statelessness

No country in Europe grants citizenship to a child simply for being born on its territory. Citizenship by birth in Europe is always conditional: about ten countries offer a path, but each attaches requirements tied to a parent’s birthplace, length of legal residence, or immigration status. Everywhere else, citizenship passes by descent from a parent, not by geography.

Ireland was the last European state to grant unconditional birthright citizenship. A 2004 constitutional referendum ended that, and since January 1, 2005, a child born in Ireland to non-Irish parents needs at least one parent with qualifying residency.¹ The United Kingdom made the same shift earlier, through the British Nationality Act 1981.² No EU member state now grants automatic citizenship at birth to children of foreign parents without additional conditions.³

When a Parent Was Also Born in the Country

The most direct route to citizenship at birth in Europe is double jus soli: the child is born in the country, and at least one parent was also born there. Seven EU states use some form of this rule, split between those that grant citizenship automatically and those that add conditions.

France, Luxembourg, and Spain apply it automatically, with no extra residency or status test for the parent.³ Article 17 of the Spanish Civil Code says a child born in Spain to foreign parents is Spanish by origin if at least one parent was also born in Spain.⁴ Luxembourg has a matching rule in its nationality law.⁵

The Netherlands works slightly differently. A child acquires Dutch citizenship when both the child and a parent have their principal residence in the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time of birth, and that parent’s own parent also had principal residence there when the parent was born. The child does not have to be born in the Netherlands for this to apply.⁶

Belgium, Greece, and Portugal also recognize double jus soli, but they layer conditions on top. In Belgium, the parent born in Belgium must also have lived there for at least five of the ten years before the child’s birth.⁷ Greece and Portugal impose their own parental status or residency conditions.⁸

When a Parent’s Residency Is Long Enough

Several European states grant citizenship at birth to children of foreign parents based on how long a parent has lived in the country, not where the parent was born. Rules vary sharply.

Germany

A child born in Germany to foreign parents acquires German citizenship at birth if at least one parent has been lawfully and ordinarily resident in Germany for five years and holds a permanent right of residence.⁹ Both conditions have to be met. A student visa or temporary work permit does not count; the parent needs a permanent settlement permit or equivalent.¹⁰

A 2024 reform of the Nationality Act removed the old requirement that these children choose one citizenship by age 23. Children born in Germany under this rule now keep both citizenships permanently.¹¹

Ireland

A child born in Ireland to non-Irish parents qualifies for Irish citizenship only if at least one parent had three years of reckonable residence in Ireland or Northern Ireland during the four years immediately before the birth. Time on a student visa or while awaiting a decision on an international protection application does not count.¹²

Belgium

Outside the double jus soli scenario, a child born on Belgian soil to foreign parents can acquire citizenship if at least one parent has lived in Belgium for five of the ten years before the birth.⁷

Greece

Greek citizenship is not automatic at birth for children of foreign parents. A child born in Greece can apply once they enroll in first grade of elementary school, provided at least one parent holds a long-term or permanent residence permit and has lived in Greece for at least five years before the birth, or ten years in total before and after it.¹³

Portugal

Portugal has one of Europe’s shortest qualifying periods. A child born in Portugal acquires citizenship if at least one parent has legally resided in the country for at least one year, regardless of visa type. Where neither parent has formal legal residence, effective residence can be established through supporting documentation.

France’s Age-Based Path for Children of Foreign Parents

France has the most layered system in Europe. A child born in France to two foreign parents does not become French at birth. French law instead creates three age-based entry points:

Between ages 13 and 15, parents can request French nationality for the child if the child was born in France, has lived there since age 8, and still lives there at the time of the request.
Between ages 16 and 17, the child can apply on their own if they were born in France and have lived there for at least five years, continuously or not, since age 11.
At 18, citizenship becomes automatic for anyone born in France to foreign parents who lives in France at age 18 and has accumulated at least five years of residence since age 11.

¹⁴

Children of diplomats and consular officials posted in France are excluded from all three tracks. Separately, France grants automatic citizenship at birth under double jus soli when at least one parent was also born in France.

The United Kingdom

The UK is not in the EU but sits inside the same question. Under Section 1 of the British Nationality Act 1981, a child born in the UK is automatically British if, at the time of birth, at least one parent is a British citizen or “settled” in the UK. Settled status covers indefinite leave to remain, permanent residence, or the right of abode.²

If neither parent qualifies at birth, two fallback routes exist. A child can be registered as British if a parent later becomes a British citizen or gains settled status while the child is still a minor. And any person born in the UK who lives there for the first ten years of their life, missing no more than 90 days in any of those years, can register as British at any point after turning ten.²

Children Who Would Otherwise Be Stateless

Even countries with strict descent-based citizenship usually make an exception for children born on their soil who would otherwise have no nationality. The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness requires signatory states to grant nationality to any person born on their territory who would otherwise be stateless, either automatically at birth or through application before age 21.¹⁵ The 1997 European Convention on Nationality directs each state party to do the same.¹⁶

Implementation is uneven. Spain grants citizenship by origin to children born in Spain if both parents are stateless or if neither parent’s home country passes nationality to the child.⁴ Italy grants citizenship at birth when both parents are stateless, when the parents are unknown, or when the child cannot acquire either parent’s nationality. Germany and the UK can require up to five years of residence after birth before granting nationality to an otherwise stateless child, and Austria up to ten. A handful of EU members had no safeguard provision at all as of a 2020 survey.

Foundlings

A separate rule covers infants found abandoned on a country’s territory with no identifiable parents. The 1961 Convention establishes the presumption that a foundling was born in the state where they were found, to parents holding that state’s nationality.¹⁵ Spain codifies this in its Civil Code: children born in Spain without determinate filiation are Spanish citizens by origin, and any minor first found on Spanish territory is presumed to have been born there.⁴ The British Nationality Act contains a matching presumption for abandoned newborns found in the UK.² Most EU states have similar protections, though some interpret “foundling” as only newborns and others extend it to older children whose parents cannot be identified.

Dual Citizenship

A child who gains European citizenship at birth through one of these routes and also inherits a parent’s foreign nationality will hold dual citizenship from day one. Whether that is workable depends on both countries. Most EU states now permit dual nationality for children, though a parent’s home country may not.

Germany is the sharpest example of recent change. Children who acquired German citizenship through birth in Germany used to be required to choose between German citizenship and their parents’ nationality before age 23. The Act to Modernize Nationality Law, in force since June 27, 2024, ended that requirement, and these children now keep both citizenships permanently.¹¹ Parents expecting a child in Europe should still check whether registering the birth with their home country’s consulate creates any obligation, and whether that country restricts dual nationality, because the effects on travel documents and status can surface years later.

1
Referendum Ireland. Referendum on the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004
2
Legislation.gov.uk. British Nationality Act 1981
3
European Parliamentary Research Service. Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship in EU Member States
4
Global Citizenship Observatory. Spain Civil Code – Book One, Title I
5
European Migration Network Luxembourg. The Law on Luxembourgish Nationality
6
IND. Dutch Citizen by Birth, Acknowledgment or Adoption
7
FPS Home Affairs Belgium. Being Granted Belgian Nationality Before the Age of 18
8
European Parliamentary Research Service. Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship in EU Member States – Key Trends and Issues
9
Gesetze im Internet. Nationality Act (StAG)
10
BMI. German Citizenship Acquired Through Birth in Germany
11
German Missions in the United States. Germany’s Nationality Law – Significant Changes
12
Citizens Information. Irish Citizenship Through Birth or Descent
13
Ministry of Interior Greece. How Can I Become a Greek Citizen
14
Service Public. French Nationality of a Child Born in France to Foreigners Parents
15
United Nations. Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness 1961
16
Council of Europe. European Convention on Nationality