Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, has proposed to the Riigikogu’s Constitutional Affairs Committee to apply new changes to the Citizenship Act to permit children of stateless parents to acquire Estonian citizenship even if one of the parents has not lived in Estonia for the required five years.
At present, children born in Estonia to parents who are legally residing in Estonia and are stateless can be granted citizenship at birth, provided they are born on or after January 1, 2016, Schengen.News reports.
Moreover, under the current law, a stateless child born in a Northern European country to parents without citizenship can obtain citizenship at birth, provided at least one part has lived in this country for a period of five years with a legal residence permit before the child’s birth.
However, if the parent has not met this condition before the child’s birth, the child is not automatically entitled to citizenship.
The Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madis, in a memorandum to the Riigikogu’s Constitutional Affairs Committee, wrote that a stateless child should be eligible to apply for Estonian citizenship even if their parents had not lived in Estonia for five years at the time of his or her birth.
However, if there are compelling reasons that prevent the recommendation from being followed, a stateless child born in Estonia should be able to apply for Estonian citizenship no later than when both of his or her parents, who are not citizens of any country, have lived in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit for at least five years, even if this requirement was not met at the time of his or her birth.
5 Year Requirement Causing Difficulties in Obtaining Citizenship
According to a report from ERR, a parent turned to the chancellor of justice amid concerns that their child, born in 2018, in Estonia without citizenship has been unable to acquire citizenship.
When the Office of the Chancellor of Justice started investigating the issue, they found that a gap in the Citizenship Act prevents a stateless child born in Estonia from obtaining Estonian citizenship if neither parent has any citizenship, but one of the parents has lived in this country on a residence permit for less than five years before the child was born.
In this case, the mother of the child was born and has lived in Estonia her entire life with a long-term residence permit. The child’s father is also stateless but had lived in this country on a residence permit for less than five years before the child was born.
At present, a stateless child in this situation cannot obtain citizenship in Estonia, regardless if the second parent has lived in this country for five years with a residence permit.
Under the current law, it is only allowed for simplified citizenship at birth.
After that, the child can obtain Estonian citizenship only if at least one parent applies for it or if the child applies on their own after the age of 15.
Estonia Has an Obligation to Prevent Children From Being Left Stateless
The Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise considered that this situation “unjustifiably” restricts the rights of children.
The state must ensure that a child born in Estonia who does not acquire any nationality at birth does not remain stateless. There is no reasonable justification for why some children are left without citizenship, despite being born in Estonia, receiving an Estonian residence permit and having ties to the Estonian state through their parents.
She stressed that Estonia has an obligation to prevent children from being left stateless, as quoted by ERR. Madise emphasized that the right to citizenship is also protected in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says that a child has the right to obtain citizenship immediately after birth.
