PRACTICAL GUIDE ON NATIONALITY (c) Adoption An applicant may have acquired nationality as a result of (child or adult) adoption by a person who is a national of a country. Nationality may also have been acquired through naturalisation with special (mostly facilitated) conditions based on the fact that they have become the child of a national of that country. An adopted child does not necessarily acquire the nationality of their adoptive parents. (d) Orphans or foundlings Orphans or abandoned children are often in situations of unconfirmed nationality. Depending on the age at which they were abandoned or when they became orphans, it may be more difficult for them to know the nationality of their parents or the circumstances of their birth. (e) Long-time residence in a country An applicant who has resided for a long period of time in a country may have acquired the nationality in the country of residence through naturalisation or a similar procedure. (f) Marriage The nationality law of some countries may provide for the acquisition of nationality based on the fact that the person is the spouse of a person who is already a national of that country. This may include the automatic acquisition of nationality by marriage. When marriage alone is not sufficient to acquire the spouse’s nationality and additional conditions need to be met, the spouse may benefit from less stringent conditions to acquire the nationality, in particular in cases where the couple has children. If the spouse does not have to renounce their former nationality after having acquired that of their spouse, this may lead to a situation of dual nationality. Women may become stateless if they lose their nationality when marrying a nonnational: (g)  if their husband is stateless or if they are not able to acquire the spouse’s nationality;  if, having acquired the nationality of their spouse through marriage, their marriage is dissolved and their former nationality is not automatically restored. Family ties Nationality law may provide for the acquisition of nationality after birth (with or without consent) that is conditional upon or results automatically from the simultaneous acquisition of nationality by a family member. For example, the children of naturalised parents may often 27