(c) Main States that require registration in case of birth outside of the State
A child born in Japan from parents with the following nationalities can acquire the
nationality of the parents if he or she is registered at the country’s consulate, etc. However,
if the child is not registered with the country of the parents’ nationality, then the child
cannot acquire the nationality of the parents. Thus, a child will become stateless if the
parents are citizens of the following States and the child is not registered with either of the
States of nationality of the parents or if one of the parents is a national of one of the
following States, the child is not registered, and the child is unable to acquire the nationality
of the other parent. This risk is greater in cases of children of refugees or asylum seekers.
As many of the refugees and asylum seekers have a risk of being persecuted by their
country of origin, it is difficult in practice for them to contact their national authorities for
birth registrations. (See Category C [Consulate denial I (Refugees)] and Category D
[Consulate denial II (Persons similarly situated as refugees)].)
• Peru100 (registration before reaching majority)
• India101 (birth registration at a consulate within a certain period after birth)
• Sri Lanka102 (registration within one year after birth)
• Commonwealth of Australia103 (registration within 25 years after birth)
• Russia (registration at a consulate in case one of the parents is a foreign
national)104
(d) Main States that have adopted the paternal jus sanguinis principle105
100
Oliver Vonk, Nationality Law in the Western Hemisphere: A Study on Grounds for Acquisition and Loss
of Citizenship in the Americas and the Caribbean. (Leiden and Boston: Brill Nijhoff, 2014), p. 304.
101
Government of India, “Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreigners Division”, at
http://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/citizenshipact1.htm.
102
Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka, “Citizenship Registration of Children Born
Outside of Sri Lanka”, at
http://www.immigration.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&id=149&Itemid=188.
103 Australian Embassy Tokyo, “Citizenship by Descent”, at
http://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/citizen_descent.html.
104
Federal Law on Russian Federation Citizenship, Article 14 (6)(a). See this link for an English
translation: http://www.legislationline.org/documents/action/popup/id/4189.
105
This is based mainly on the following document published in March 2017: UNHCR “Background
Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2017”, at
http://www.refworld.org/docid/58aff4d94.html.
50