Merve Erdilmen and Iseult Honohan
Table 1: Varieties of ius sanguinis citizenship in the EU 28, January 1 2020
Ius Sanguinis (in the country)
N
%
-Unconditional
25
89%
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
-Dual citizenship restriction
1
4%
Latvia
-Wedlock restriction
2
7%
Finland, Malta
Ius Sanguinis (abroad)
N
%
-Unconditional
18
64 %
Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden
-Registration required
7
25%
Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Portugal,
United Kingdom
-Dual citizenship restriction
1
4%
Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia
-Wedlock restriction
2
7%
Finland, Malta
Total
28
Source: www.globalcit.eu.
Note: percentages for ius sanguinis (abroad) do not add up to 100% as Malta is included in two categories.
3. Trends in ius sanguinis provision
Thus we can identify three main trends in ius sanguinis provision in the period 2013-2020 for
the EU 28:
•
Removing gender discrimination in out-of-wedlock births, and adapting to new
parenthood relationships
•
According more inclusive access to citizenship to descendants of citizens abroad;
•
Offering citizenship rights to descendants of expelled communities.
While these changes are generally in a more inclusive direction, their significance in
number and scope remains limited. Certain Member States still have restrictions related to
wedlock, and only a few have attempted to adapt their citizenship laws to new parenthood
relationships. Two diverse directions can be identified in the extension to more remote
descendants of citizens abroad – one maintaining links with a national diaspora, and the other
offering reparation for past wrongs.
RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-Comp. 2020/2 - © 2020 Authors
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