SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Kiribati Laws Kiribati is one of the four countries in the Asia-Pacific with gender discriminatory nationality laws that limit or inhibit the ability of women to pass on their citizenship to children. Citizenship by descent is limited to children whose fathers are Kiribati citizens. renounce any prior citizenship.1533 Further, the period of permanent residence required for naturalization does not count until the person has renounced their citizenship.1534 This means that in order to be naturalized in Kiribati, one must remain stateless for ten years before knowing the citizenship decision. Naturalized citizenship Citizenship Law Jus sanguinis and jus soli provisions Kiribati’s national citizenship legislation operates through a combined jus soli and jus sanguinis structure with an additional condition of births in or out of wedlock. Children born in Kiribati to an I-Kiribati parent are automatically entitled to citizenship.1517 Those born in Kiribati who are not of I-Kiribati descent are automatically entitled to citizenship by birth if they are not entitled to any other citizenship.1518 Citizenship by descent is limited to children whose fathers are Kiribati citizens.1519 Children born outside of Kiribati to mothers who are Kiribati citizens are not able to acquire Kiribati citizenship. There is no explicit mention of foundlings or stateless children nor is there a definition of statelessness in the citizenship laws of Kiribati. Kiribati’s national citizenship legislation operates through a combined jus soli and jus sanguinis structure with an additional condition of births in or out of wedlock. Kiribati is one of the four countries in the Asia-Pacific with gender discriminatory nationality laws that limit or inhibit the ability of women to pass on their citizenship to children. Citizenship by descent is limited to children whose fathers are Kiribati citizens.1520 For children born in wedlock, regardless of birthplace, only the father is able to confer citizenship to the child.1521 However, if the child is born out of wedlock, regardless of birthplace, citizenship may be conferred by either parent.1522 Even for adoption, if the parents are married, the father must be a citizen in order for the adopted child to gain citizenship.1523 Women who lost their Kiribati citizenship as a result of gaining citizenship from marrying a foreign citizen must apply for reacquisition of their citizenship, which is not guaranteed, placing women in this situation at risk of statelessness.1524 Women are also unable to confer nationality to a foreign spouse upon marriage, but Kiribati citizen men are able to confer nationality to foreign wives.1525 132 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) There is a naturalization process available to anyone who is 18 years old, of good character, who intends to stay in Kiribati, can speak Kiribati, and is financially independent, among other requirements.1526 With the Citizenship Amendment Act (2022), the period of permanent residence required for the application increased from seven to ten years.1527 Further, the Amendment Act added a new eligibility requirement, which states one must also have a permanent residence visa issued under the Immigration Act (2019) in order to be eligible for citizenship by application.1528 In order to get a permanent residence visa, as per the Immigration Act, one must be living in Kiribati for a period of seven years and cannot be “liable for deportation”.1529 There are no provisions providing a simplified or expedited naturalization process for stateless persons or refugees. Kiribati’s laws on naturalization also include gender discriminatory provisions.1530 In the applications for naturalization, men are able to include their wife and children on the application only if the wife provides written consent to the acquisition of citizenship, but there is no such provision for women to include their husbands or children in their application.1531 Dual citizenship Dual citizenship is prohibited in Kiribati. Another eligibility requirement to apply for naturalization is to 1532 Dual citizenship is prohibited in Kiribati. Treaty ratification status While Kiribati has a low ratification of the core treaty bodies, it has ratified the CRC, CEDAW, the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, of which Kiribati has made no reservations. Kiribati is one of only two states in the Pacific, and one of only four states in the entire Asia Pacific to be party to both Statelessness Conventions. The Kiribati government has acknowledged the discriminatory nature of the citizenship provisions and their lack of alignment with the state’s international obligations under CEDAW.1535 The 2022 concluding observations by the CRC Committee have recommended that Kiribati continue improving its birth registration by strengthening access to online registration, eliminating birth registration fees including late fee penalties, and combatting stigmatization of unwed mothers and their children.1536 As a party to the CRC, Kiribati is obligated to ensure that every birth in its territory is registered immediately.1537 Under the 1961 Convention, Kiribati is also obligated to grant citizenship to those born in the territory or outside to a citizen who would TABLE 35 Ratification of International laws relating to statelessness by the countries the Pacific Country Kribati ✅ ⛔ Stateless 1 ✅ Stateless 2 ✅ Refugee Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention ⛔ ICCPR ⛔ ICESCR ⛔ ICERD ⛔ CRC ✅ CEDAW ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness REPORT 2024 133