SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: THE PACIFIC Samoa Laws Citizenship Law Jus sanguinis and jus soli provisions The citizenship laws of Samoa operate through both jus sanguinis and jus soli structures with an additional condition of permanent residency.1723 The Citizenship Act (2004) stipulates in Article 6 that children born within the territory only gain citizenship if one of their parents is a citizen of Samoa.1724 According to Article 7 of the Act, a child born outside of the territory may gain citizenship by descent if they have one parent who is a citizen of Samoa.1725 However, in order to do so, the parent who is a citizen must have acquired their citizenship “otherwise than by descent” or resided in the territory for three years.1726 Additionally, a child born outside of Samoa may gain citizenship by descent if they have at least one grandparent who gained citizenship by birth.1727 The citizenship laws of Samoa operate through both jus sanguinis and jus soli structures with an additional condition of permanent residency. There are no provisions stipulating citizenship for foundlings or children born within the territory of Samoa to stateless and/or foreign citizen parents. Article 6(2) of the Citizenship Act includes provisions on citizenship for births occurring on a ship or aircraft.1728 It states that regardless of where the ship or aircraft is registered, a person born on the ship or aircraft is not considered to be born in Samoa.1729 Further, if the person born on the ship or aircraft is stateless, “the Minister may grant the person Samoan citizenship by birth”.1730 There are no provisions stipulating citizenship for foundlings or children born within the territory of Samoa to stateless and/or foreign citizen parents. Further, there is no explicit definition of or protection for stateless persons under the citizenship law of Samoa. 154 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Naturalized citizenship recommended that Samoa ensure free and early birth registration, especially in rural areas where they “consider the use of mobile registration teams to cover remote communities” to ensure the registration details for children of unwed mothers are accurate. The Committee also recommended developing strategies that combat stigmatization of unwed mothers, ensure access to necessary financial, human and technical resources to improve the new online registration system, and raise awareness of the importance of birth registration and its process.1739 Citizenship may be acquired by naturalization through permanent residency, as stipulated in Article 8 of the Citizenship Act.1731 Part of the eligibility criteria is to have continuously held a valid permanent resident permit for five years as well as pay a fee.1732 There is an expedited process available for investors, but not for stateless persons.1733 Dual citizenship There are no provisions regarding dual citizenship in Samoa’s national legislation. Treaty ratification status Population Samoa has ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the ICCPR, CRC, and CEDAW with no relevant reservations. Reported stateless persons In 2021, Samoa reported zero stateless persons to UNHCR.1740 Both qualitative and quantitative data on statelessness are lacking in the country. Under the ICCPR, Samoa is obligated to ensure every child the right to nationality.1734 By ratifying the CRC, Samoa is bound to register every birth in its territory immediately.1735 Samoa’s ratification of CEDAW also requires the Government of Samoa to ensure gender equality in nationality laws.1736 The CRC Committee expressed concerns in its 2016 concluding observations that birth registration is not implemented equally between national health facilities and traditional birth attendants in villages.1737 Further, the requirement of a fee for birth registration as well as the stigmatization placed on young and unwed mothers throughout the process is discriminatory.1738 The Committee Persons at risk of statelessness Foundling children as well as children born to stateless and/or foreign parents are at risk of statelessness in Samoa due to lack of legal safeguards in national legislation. Children born in rural areas or to unwed mothers are also at risk due to lower rates of birth registration.1741 In 2021, Samoa reported zero stateless persons to UNHCR. Both qualitative and quantitative data on statelessness are lacking in the country. TABLE 43 Ratification of International laws relating to statelessness by the countries the Pacific Country Samoa ✅ ⛔ Stateless 1 ⛔ Stateless 2 ⛔ Refugee Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention ✅ ICCPR ✅ ICESCR ⛔ ICERD ⛔ CRC ✅ CEDAW ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness REPORT 2024 155