1. Lack of Legal Safeguards Against Childhood Statelessness
There are no legal safeguards for foundlings in Tuvalu due to the requirement of having one citizen parent in order to gain citizenship by birth if born in the territory. While the Constitution provides that foundling children will be considered to be born within the territory, there is no provision protecting such foundling children from becoming stateless.
2. Citizenship Stripping
Under the law of Tuvalu, citizens who acquired citizenship through naturalization can be deprived of citizenship through extended periods abroad. The law does not provide a specific timeframe that triggers deprivation. Appeals regarding citizenship decisions may be directed to the Citizenship Committee, as detailed in Article 4 of the Citizenship Act.
3. Administrative Barriers
There is no legislation which delineates whether birth registration is required for acquiring citizenship. Tuvalu has a notably low birth registration rate, reported to the UN Statistics Division in 2020 as 50%.The rate of registration tends to be lower in outer islands, calling for increased attention to the implementation of registration in outer islands. Tuvalu’s Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act stipulates that births must be registered within 10 days. If a birth is not registered within 3 months of the date of birth, a fee must be paid in order to register the birth. This places an unnecessary barrier to birth registration which could be a factor in the low rates of registration seen in Tuvalu.
4. Statelessness and Climate Change
Tuvalu faces a fundamental risk from rising sea-levels. Extensive research has been undertaken on the risks of statehood and the threat of statelessness caused in low-lying states including Tuvalu. Climate-induced relocation places naturalized citizens at risk of losing their citizenship of Tuvalu due to the existing citizenship loss provisions. Section 7(6) of the Citizenship Act provides that a naturalized citizen may be deprived of Tuvalu citizenship if they do not comply with certain requirements of naturalization, including remaining financially self-supporting. In the event of climate-induced relocation, the ability to maintain financial self-sufficiency may be reduced, making the naturalized citizen vulnerable to deprivation of citizenship.
