Comparative Regional Report on Citizenship Law: Oceania Table 1 Birthright Rules Procedure Provisions for person born in country Provisions for person born outside country Automatic Automatic/ Registration Either parent a citizen Ius soli citizenship for persons born in Fiji (with exceptions: see 3.1.2) Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen Kiribati Automatic Ius soli citizenship for persons born in Kiribati (with exceptions: see 3.1.2) Marshall Is Automatic Nauru Palau Automatic Automatic PNG Samoa Automatic Automatic Either parent a citizen Ius soli citizenship for persons born in the Marshall Islands (with exceptions: see 3.1.2) Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen or of recognised Palauan ancestry Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen Solomon Is Tonga Tuvalu Automatic Automatic Automatic Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen Ius soli citizenship for persons born in Tuvalu (with exceptions: see 3.1.2) Vanuatu Automatic Either parent a citizen FSM Fiji Citizenship must be registered. Residence requirement if application made by person over 18 Father (or mother if parents unmarried) is or would have been a citizen Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen or of recognised Palauan ancestry Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen otherwise than by descent (ie the parent did not themselves acquire citizenship by birth overseas to a citizen) or has resided in Samoa for 3 years Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen Either parent a citizen In most cases, a child born inside a country to a parent who is a citizen automatically acquires citizenship. It is generally the case that a child born outside the country to a parent who is a citizen will automatically acquire citizenship at birth. Laws in Fiji and Samoa place some qualifications. Fiji requires that children born overseas be registered as citizens, and that if a person is over 18 years of age at the time of registration, he or she must be resident in Fiji for at least three of the five years preceding the application.26 Samoa does not extend this kind of citizenship to children born overseas to a Samoan who themselves acquired citizenship by birth to Samoan parents overseas, unless that parent has resided in Samoa for at least three years.27 In both cases, the law seeks to ensure a connection between the person born overseas and residence in the country of their citizenship. 3.1.2 Ius soli Citizenship by birth in the territory of the country (ius soli) is relatively uncommon in Oceania. Only in four states – Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu – is citizenship conferred on persons born in the country regardless of their parent’s citizenship, with some significant exceptions. In the Marshall Islands, ius soli citizenship is not conferred on persons who are entitled to be or become a citizen of another country at birth.28 Kiribati has a similar rule, but it does not apply to persons of i-Kiribati descent (who, as explained in Part 4.1, may hold dual 26 Citizenship of Fiji Act 2009 (Fiji) s 8(1). Citizenship Act 2004 (Samoa) s 7. 28 Constitution of the Marshall Islands 1978 Art XI, s 1(2)(b). 27 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp 2020/1 - © 2020 Author 7