status of ratifications
The Contracting States,Acting in pursuance of
resolution 896 (IX), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 4
December 1954, Considering it desirable to reduce statelessness by
international agreement,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
1. A Contracting State shall grant its
nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless.
Such nationality shall be granted:
(a) At birth, by operation of law, or
(b) Upon an application being lodged with the
appropriate authority, by or on behalf of the person concerned, in the manner
prescribed by the national law. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of
this article, no such application may be rejected. A Contracting State which
provides for the grant of its nationality in accordance with subparagraph (b)
of this paragraph may also provide for the grant of its nationality by
operation of law at such age and subject to such conditions as may be
prescribed by the national law.
2. A Contracting State may make the grant of its
nationality in accordance with subparagraph (b) -of paragraph I of this article
subject to one or more of the following conditions:
(a) That the application is lodged during a
period, fixed by the Contracting State, beginning not later than at the age of
eighteen years and ending not earlier than at the age of twenty-one years, so,
however, that the person concerned shall be allowed at least one year during
which he may himself make the application without having to obtain legal
authorization to do so;
(b) That the person concerned has habitually
resided in the territory of the Contracting State for such period as may be
fixed by that State, not exceeding five years immediately preceding the lodging
of the application nor ten years in all;
(c) That the person concerned has neither been
convicted of an offence against national security nor has been sentenced to
imprisonment for a term of five years or more on a criminal charge;
(d) That the person concerned has always been
stateless.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs
I (b) and 2 of this article, a child born in wedlock in the territory of a
Contracting State, whose mother has the nationality of that State, shall
acquire at birth that nationality if it otherwise would be stateless.
4. A Contracting State shall grant its
nationality to a person who would otherwise be stateless and who is unable to
acquire the nationality of the Contracting State in whose territory he was born
because he has passed the age for lodging his application or has not fulfilled
the required residence conditions, if the nationality of one of his parents at
the time of the person's birth was that of the Contracting State first
above-mentioned. If his parents did not possess the same nationality at the
time of his birth, the question whether the nationality of the person concerned
should follow that of the father or that of the mother shall be determined by
the national law of
such Contracting State. If application for such
nationality is required, the application shall be made to the appropriate
authority by or on behalf of the applicant in the manner prescribed by the
national law. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 of this article, such
application shall not be refused.
5. The Contracting State may make the grant of
its nationality in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of this
article subject to one or more of the following conditions:
(a) That the application is lodged before the
applicant reaches an age, being not less than twenty-three years, fixed by the
Contracting State;
(b) That the person concerned has habitually
resided in the territory of the Contracting State for such period immediately
preceding the lodging of the application, not exceeding three years, as may be
fixed by that State;
(c) That the person concerned has always been
stateless.
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Article 2
A foundling found in the territory of a
Contracting State shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered
to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the nationality
of that State.
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Article 3
For the purpose of determining the obligations
of Contracting States under this Convention, birth on a ship or in an aircraft
shall be deemed to have taken place in the territory of the State whose flag
the ship flies or in the territory of the State in which the aircraft is
registered, as the case may be.
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Article 4
1. A Contracting State shall grant its
nationality to a person, not born in the territory of a Contracting State, who
would otherwise be stateless, if the nationality of one of his parents at the
time of the person's birth was that of that State. If his parents did not
possess the same nationality at the time of his birth, the question whether the
nationality of the person concerned should follow that of the father or that of
the mother shall be determined by the national law of such Contracting State.
Nationality granted in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph shall
be granted:
(a) At birth, by operation of law, or
(b) Upon an application being lodged with the
appropriate authority, by or on behalf of the person concerned, in the manner
prescribed by the national law. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of
this article, no such application may be rejected.
2. A Contracting State may make the grant of its
nationality in accordance with the provisions of paragraph I of this article
subject to one or more of the following conditions:
(a) That the application is lodged before the
applicant reaches an age, being not less than twenty-three years, fixed by the
Contracting State;
(b) That the person concerned has habitually
resided in the territory of the Contracting State for such period immediately
preceding the lodging of the application, not exceeding three years, as may be
fixed by that State;
(c) That the person concerned has not been
convicted of an offence against national security;
(d) That the person concerned has always been
stateless.
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Article 5
1. If the law of a Contracting State entails
loss of nationality as a consequence of any change in the personal status of a
person such as marriage, termination of marriage, legitimation, recognition or
adoption, such loss shall be conditional upon possession or acquisition of
another nationality.
2. If, under the law of a Contracting State, a
child born out of wedlock loses the nationality of that State in consequence of
a recognition of affiliation, he shall be given an opportunity to recover that
nationality by written application to the appropriate authority, and the
conditions governing such application shall not be more rigorous than those
laid down in paragraph 2 of article I of this Convention.
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Article 6
If the law of a Contracting State provides for
loss of its nationality by a person' s spouse or children as a consequence of
that person losing or being deprived of that nationality, such loss shall be
conditional upon their possession or acquisition of another nationality.
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