Citizenship by birth: grounds and protection
Acquisition of Georgian citizenship by descent (by birth) is governed by Article 10 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Citizenship. This is the primary form of acquisition for those who have a Georgian-citizen parent — a norm built on the jus sanguinis principle, which additionally covers two special situations. This page explains who acquires citizenship by birth, how this relates to the other forms of acquisition, and how the law protects a child's citizenship amid family changes.
The four cases of citizenship by birth — Article 10
Article 10 provides that Georgian citizenship by birth is acquired by: a person at least one of whose parents is a Georgian citizen at the moment of birth; a person born on the territory of Georgia through extracorporeal fertilisation (surrogacy), if the country of citizenship of the parents does not regard them as its citizen; a child of stateless persons holding status in Georgia, born on the territory of Georgia; and a person born on the territory of Georgia one of whose parents is a stateless person holding status in Georgia and the other parent is unknown.
The first sub-paragraph is central: it suffices that at the moment of birth one parent was a Georgian citizen — the place of birth is irrelevant. The remaining three govern the situations where transmission by blood is impossible or indeterminate: surrogacy, the parents' statelessness, and the unknown identity of the second parent.
The forms of acquisition — Article 9
Article 9 lays down the system: citizenship is acquired by birth or by naturalisation; naturalisation is carried out by the President of Georgia through the grant of citizenship. The types of naturalisation are the ordinary, simplified, exceptional and restoration procedures. Acquisition by birth is the foundation of this system and requires neither an application nor a presidential decision — the right flows directly from the law.
Family changes and the preservation of citizenship — Article 5
Article 5 protects citizenship from family changes: the marriage or divorce of a Georgian citizen with a foreigner or with a stateless person holding status in Georgia does not change the spouses' citizenship; a change of citizenship by one spouse does not change the other's; divorce does not change the children's citizenship; a change of citizenship by one or both parents does not change the children's; the adoption of a Georgian minor by a citizen of another country does not change the minor's citizenship; and a Georgian citizen's residence abroad does not cause termination of citizenship.
These norms matter in practice for mixed families: a child who acquired Georgian citizenship by birth does not lose it through the parents' divorce, through one parent's acquisition of another citizenship, or through a move abroad.
The route of restoration — Article 18
For persons whose Georgian citizenship has terminated, Article 18 provides for granting it by way of restoration: it is granted to a person whose citizenship terminated unlawfully, through renunciation, or as a result of the parents' choice. Restoration rests on knowledge of the state language and the absence of grounds for refusal — except in the case of unlawful termination, where these requirements do not apply; citizenship lost through a parent's choice may be restored upon reaching majority, and a person with a firm disability is exempt from the language check.
Article 18 also defines the elusive notion: citizenship is considered terminated unlawfully where a person lost it without the existence of a ground provided by law — and precisely in that case the requirements of knowledge of the language and of the absence of grounds for refusal do not extend to restoration, which considerably simplifies the path.
For applicants by descent the practical sequence is thus: establish which subparagraph of the birth rule covers the person at the moment of birth; collect the documents confirming the parent's citizenship at that moment; and only where the status was later lost turn to the restoration procedure with its defined conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently asked about citizenship.
Is one parent's Georgian citizenship sufficient?
Yes — a person at least one of whose parents is a Georgian citizen at the moment of birth acquires citizenship by birth regardless of the place of birth.
Can a child's citizenship be changed by the parents' changes?
No — neither divorce, nor a change of citizenship by one or both parents, nor adoption by a foreigner changes a minor's Georgian citizenship.
Does an emigrant lose citizenship?
No. A Georgian citizen's residence outside the country does not cause termination of citizenship.
How is citizenship restored after a parent's choice caused its loss?
Grant by way of restoration is possible upon reaching majority, subject to knowledge of the state language and the absence of refusal grounds.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team will place your situation within the list of Article 10, determine the documents needed to confirm citizenship by birth, and advise on the restoration procedure if citizenship was terminated in the past. Contact us — we will assess your case at the very first consultation.