Citizenship via Grandfather

Daisy.Chain said:

Good morning,

I am a US citizen married to a Dominican man born in the DR. We currently live in the US, and our first child will be born here. We are planning to do the paperwork to acquire US and Dominican citizenship for her.

As the laws are now, if she decides to live in the US but gets a cedula and one day she has children (grandchildren of a Dominican), would those children be able to acquire Dominican citizenship, even if they are also born in the US?

I appreciate the help in advance!

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Hi, To adquire the Dominian citizenship by jus sanguis as is called one or both parents must be Dominicans and no matter where the babe was born, so your daugther will get it because her father is Dominican. Also our constitution express that if you do not claim for your babe the Dominican citizenship when she turn 18 she can get it by herself just declaring her wish to become Dominican.

Your daughter will be Dominican by birth, the same rules that apply to her for being a daughter of a Dominican will apply to her children for being the child of a Dominican.

What I would check is the requisites for her to be registered as a Dominican. If I recall well , when we did the procedure for our children born in Europe, it was easy because their mother is Dominican, but when it’s the father who is Dominican I vaguely remember there was a different procedure.

Daisy.Chain said:

Thanks! Would my daughter's future kids be able to derive Dominican citizenship from her?

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Yes, they will, same way she got it, no matter where they wasborn.

doble nacionalidad

Daisy.Chain said:

Good morning,

I am a US citizen married to a Dominican man born in the DR. We currently live in the US, and our first child will be born here. We are planning to do the paperwork to acquire US and Dominican citizenship for her.

As the laws are now, if she decides to live in the US but gets a cedula and one day she has children (grandchildren of a Dominican), would those children be able to acquire Dominican citizenship, even if they are also born in the US?

I appreciate the help in advance!

Click to expand...

Born in the USA: IMMEDIATELY upon registration of the birth, ask how to get a birth certificate apostilled, as this is required for the document to be recognised by a foreign government. I had a lawyer file the birth records of my kids and I got Dominican birth certificates indicating their USA birth places. Then I got Dominican passports for them.

In my State, you must get a birth certificate that is notarized. You walk into the joint and ask for a notarized birth certificate for apostille. That is because the Secretary of State can attest the signature of the notary public but cannot attest to the "signature" rubber-stamped on normal birth certificates.

Prompt registration is a safeguard against the notorious Child Protection Service baby-snatchers. Even if they take your kid, and terminate parental rights, you still have documentary proof of their Dominican nationality.

To obtain a cédula, the birth must be registered in the Dominican Republic, and doing that requires the Dominican parent’s cédula. I am not sure how somebody would trace these things through a deceased ancestor.

Once the birth is registered, now we're talking about international norms that forbid assessing a poll tax. Since it is illegal to make you pay to vote, and presenting your cédula is required, there cannot be a fee for a cédula, and you ask for an Acta Inextensa Para Fines de Cédula which is a free birth certificate valid only for a cédula.

A USA example of the same concept can be found at
https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/license-drvs/how-to-apply/petition-process.aspx

While the answer has already been given, I think it's important for people to understand certain details.

The Dominican constitution recognizes both, jus sanguinis (citizenship by blood) and jus solis (citizenship by birth.)

While many people think that Dominicans born to at least one Dominican parent in the DR gains citizenship via jus solis and those born abroad via jus sanguinis, in reality 100% of ethnic Dominicans (all that is required to be an ethnic Dominican is to have at least one Dominican parent) inherits Dominican citizenship exclusively through jus sanguinis. That's true for island born as well as those born overseas.

The recognition of jus solis exist as a way to 'reward' foreign couples with legal residency in the DR, as such their kids gain Dominican citizenship simply for being born on Dominican soil. However, from that generation forward Dominican citizenship is actually acquired via jus sanguinis, not jus solis, regardless if their offsprings are born on the island or abroad.

Notice that foreign couples with illegal residency in the DR are not able to produce a Dominican citizen simply by birth. Dominican jurisprudence is designed in such a way that an illegality can't produce legal rights. In order for a legal right to be conferred, the original illegality (lets call it the original sin) must be rectified and then, and only then, it automatically rectifies the situation of the entire descendancy starting with the original illegal foreign couple that legalizes their situation. Believe it or not, the legalization can even be done well after the original illegal foreign couple dies, given that the proper legally established procedures are followed through. The easiest way to void the lets call it inherited mark of the original sin is if the offsprings of the illegal foreign couple have children with Dominican citizens, because Dominican law never negates Dominican citizenship to the son/daughter of any Dominican. Again, every ethnic Dominican gains citizenship via jus sanguinis.

Believe it or not, this very simply and straightforward concept is too complicated (perhaps too abstract) for many people to understand. Don't ask me why, because I don't know why some people don't get it regardless how many ways you try to explain it to them, especially the part that fixing the original illegality automatically fixes the situation for the entire line of descent. So if you try to explain this to someone and they don't get it, just give up. It isn't worth it to break your head open for someone that simply doesn't get it.