EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR ASYLUM 2.2. Multiple nationality Persons who fulfil the conditions of nationality towards more than one country may possess two or more nationalities. This is referred to as ‘dual’ or ‘multiple’ nationality. Multiple nationality may be acquired at birth or after birth. It often results from the interaction of different systems of nationality acquisition. For example, multiple nationality may arise in cases where nationality laws in the place of birth ascribe nationality on the basis of jus soli, whilst the domestic law of a parent’s state of nationality ascribes nationality through descent. It may also occur where the parents are of different nationalities and both their states of nationality ascribe nationality to the newborn child on the basis of jus sanguinis ( 46). Multiple nationality may also result from a person acquiring a new nationality through naturalisation while retaining the nationality they already hold. Certain countries prohibit individuals from holding multiple nationalities or only allow it under specific circumstances (such as where multiple nationalities were acquired at birth). In such cases, the person requesting naturalisation may be required to renounce their current nationality or their nationality may be automatically revoked when they voluntarily acquire another nationality. See more on the topic of protection in cases of multiple nationality in Section 6.2. National protection in the case of multiple nationality. 2.3. The country of nationality as a state The existence of nationality presupposes the existence of a sovereign state, as only a state can create a bond of nationality. The extent to which an entity constitutes a state is informed by international law ( 47). If you are unsure whether a specific territory can be considered a sovereign state, you should consult your national guidelines on this matter. Note however that the following situations do not result in a change of nationality. • A state that loses its effective central government due to an armed conflict remains a state legally speaking ( 48) and its citizens remain this state’s nationals. • Non-state actors — for example armed groups — effectively exercise jurisdiction over a part of a state and sometimes assume state-like governmental functions in that (46) E. Fripp, Nationality and Statelessness in the International Law of Refugee Status, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016, paragraph 1.94. (47) See for example the criteria laid out in Article 1 of the Convention on Rights and Duties of States adopted by the Seventh International Conference of American States, 49 Stat. 3097, Treaty Series 881, 26 December 1933 (known as Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States) according to which a state is constituted when an entity has a permanent population, a defined territory, government and capacity to enter into relations with other states. (48) See mutatis mutandis UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 2014, paragraph 21. 18