Chapter 2 The Right to Nationality and Judgment TC/0168/13 of the Constitutional Court | 75 157. On January 26, 2010, a new Constitution was approved in the Dominican Republic. The provision concerning the acquisition of Dominican nationality by jus soli was left unchanged from the Constitution of June 20, 1929 up to the 2010 Constitution. However, with the 2010 Constitution, the Supreme Court’s interpretation in its 2005 judgment was formally incorporated by adding a third exception to the principle of jus soli, according to which the children of parents in an irregular migratory situation in the Dominican Republic would not be entitled to Dominican nationality. 158. As of the date of approval of this report, the ways to acquire Dominican nationality are established in Article 18 of the 2010 Dominican Constitution, which reads as follows: Dominicans are: 1) The sons and daughters of a Dominican mother or father; 2) Those who had Dominican nationality before this Constitution entered into force; 3) Persons born within the national territory, with the exception of the sons and daughters of foreign nationals who are members of diplomatic and consular representations, of foreign nationals in transit or of foreign nationals residing illegally within Dominican territory. A person in transit is any foreign national defined as such under Dominican law; 4) Persons born abroad of a Dominican father or mother, even when they have acquired, by virtue of their place of birth, a nationality distinct from that of their parents. Once they reach the age of eighteen, they may, in the presence of the competent authority, express a preference for dual nationality or renounce one of their nationalities; 5) Persons who enter into marriage with a Dominican citizen, provided they opt for their spouse’s nationality and meet the requirements that the law establishes; 6) The direct descendants of Dominicans living abroad; 7) Naturalized persons, in accordance with the conditions and formalities that the law prescribes. Paragraph. – The branches of government shall enforce special policies to preserve and strengthen the Dominican Nation’s ties with its nationals abroad, for the essential goal of achieving greater integration. 166 166 Dominican Republic, Constitution of the Dominican Republic, proclaimed on January 26, 2010. Published in Official Gazette No. 10561, Article 18(3). Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR