Law

1. Citizenship Law

a. Jus Sanguinis Provisions

The citizenship laws of the Federated States of Micronesia (Micronesia) operate through jus sanguinis provisions with children born either within or outside of the territory to a citizen parent automatically considered citizens. Children born outside of the territory are considered natural citizens until the age of 21, after which they will only be considered citizens if they established permanent residence before reaching the age of 21. Micronesia’s national legislation also does not include a definition of a stateless person or any explicit mention of statelessness.

b. Naturalized Citizenship

A naturalization process is only available to children of a citizen parent who are 18 years or older, of good character, has renounced previous citizenship, and have been permanent residents in the territory for at least five years. Further, in order to apply for naturalized citizenship in Micronesia, the applicant must have already renounced their other citizenship, leaving them in an indefinite period of statelessness. There are no provisions providing stateless persons or refugees the opportunity to apply for naturalization.

c. Dual Citizenship

Due to a constitutional amendment passed in 2023, Micronesians can have dual citizenship with the United States. Dual citizenship is not recognized with a state other than the U.S.

2. Treaty Ratification Status

Micronesia has only ratified the CRC and CEDAW with no relevant reservations. In its 2020 concluding observations, the CRC Committee recommended that Micronesia improve its data collection system for birth registration with a special focus on increasing access in the outer islands. As a party to the CRC, Micronesia is responsible for ensuring that every birth is registered immediately as well as to ensure that no child is left stateless.

Ratification of International laws relating to statelessness by the countries the Pacific

Country	Stateless 1	Stateless 2	Refugee	ICCPR	ICESCR	ICERD	CRC	CEDAW
Federated States of Micronesia

Signifies that the country is a party to the convention

Stateless 1 – 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention

Stateless 2 – 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

Population

1. Reported Stateless Persons

Micronesia has not reported to UNHCR or the UN Statistics Department on figures of statelessness. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern regarding access to birth registration for children on remote islands. Micronesia should work towards establishing an identification system for identifying potential stateless persons in its territory.

2. Other Populations of Note

Citizens of Micronesia possess a Compact of Free Association with the United States that allows for visa-free travel and settlement within the US. Persons within the US are considered non-immigrant non-citizens. While persons living in the US under the compact of free association originally received access to health care and education, recent reports have shown that entitlement to these services is no longer universal for citizens of the Marshall Islands. It is unclear if Micronesian citizens are facing the same barriers.

Causes of Statelessness

1. Lack of Legal Safeguards Against Childhood Statelessness

The citizenship law of Micronesia provides no explicit protection for foundlings or children born within the territory to stateless and/or foreign parents to access citizenship.

2. Citizenship Stripping

Naturalized citizenship can be cancelled if a person travels to a foreign country (not including the U.S. or Puerto Rico) for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. This could leave some stateless if they do not have the nationality of another country when their naturalized citizenship is cancelled.

3. Administrative Barriers

As of 2015, Micronesia’s birth registration rate was reported by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as 70%. Birth registration in Micronesia is required for school enrollment and to obtain a passport. Challenges with birth registration include differing civil registration procedures for each state and the lack of a streamlined national registration system. There is a need to centralize civil registration data. Limited transportation and communication pose significant challenges for recording and registering births, especially in remote areas. Despite a common legal approach to birth registration across the four states of Micronesia, procedural variations exist due to differences in topography and administrative procedures. For example, the island of Kosrae has a direct link between the Department of Health and Social Affairs and the court, allowing for efficient weekly manual record sharing. States with more outer islands, such as Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Yap, face more significant challenges.

4. Statelessness and Climate Change

While it remains a hypothetical debate, there are a number of articles and reports written on the risk of statelessness faced by citizens of low-lying Pacific states including Micronesia due to the impact of climate-induced sea-level rise.

The Federated States of Micronesia

Overview

Law