Request by Representatives; Making Citizenship More Difficult for Children of Iranian Mothers

A number of representatives submitted a proposal to the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to amend the law regarding the citizenship of children born from marriages between Iranian women and foreign men. If approved, granting citizenship to children of Iranian mothers from foreign fathers will be conditional upon "taking a DNA test to prove the definitive lineage of the child to the Iranian mother" and "obtaining a certificate of renunciation of foreign citizenship and taking an oath." This proposal, signed by 28 representatives, aims to prevent the "formation of a large dual-nationality population in the country" and claims that the current law is insufficient to ensure that applicants do not pose "security problems." In the justification section of this proposal, it is stated that "granting citizenship to children of Iranian mothers merely based on claims of temporary marriage from the moment of the child's birth is the most critical flaw of this law, which will lead to a replacement population of nationals in Iran." These representatives believe that the mentioned law, under the guise of "supporting the dignity of Iranian mothers," was intended to organize a target population of less than 10,000 people but has effectively granted inherent citizenship to a target population of over 80,000 applicants, which is increasing daily. One of the criticisms raised by supporters of this "proposal" concerns the security issues of the applicants. According to these representatives, the implementation of this law has led to the formation of a "large dual-nationality population" in the country. Advocates for amending this law believe that this change, considering the religious, ideological, and social differences of these individuals and the acquisition of inherent citizenship, will cause significant changes in the governance structure without restrictions. This letter has been signed by representatives including Zahra Aliahian, Mohammad Reza Dashti Ardakani, Seyyed Mostafa Aghamir Saleem, Nasrollah Pezeshkianfar, Abbas Jahangirzadeh, Hossein Ali Hajideligani, and Fada Hossein Maleki. The signatories of the letter emphasized that in implementing this law, granting citizenship to the child of an Iranian mother "must require taking a DNA test to prove the definitive lineage of the child to the Iranian mother before the legal medical organization and a competent court's ruling." It has also been emphasized that those who are granted Iranian citizenship under this law will be subject to the provisions of Article 982 of the Civil Code. According to this article, individuals who acquire Iranian citizenship will enjoy all rights granted to Iranians but will not be able to hold positions such as the presidency and its vice presidents, membership in the Guardian Council, presidency of the judiciary, ministerial and deputy ministerial positions, membership in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, membership in provincial, county, and city councils, employment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or hold any political, judicial, high-ranking military, and security positions. Additionally, it has been emphasized that "obtaining a certificate of renunciation of foreign citizenship and taking an oath and citizenship test before the issuance of a birth certificate" for children of Iranian mothers is mandatory, and the identification of children of Iranian mothers must occur after the formation of a file and before security inquiries by the intelligence organization. On June 3, 2020, Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani's administration, issued a directive on granting Iranian citizenship to children born from marriages between Iranian women and foreign men to the ministries of interior, intelligence, foreign affairs, and the legal vice presidency. According to this directive, any Iranian woman married to a non-Iranian man and having a child under 18 as a result of this marriage, as well as any individual born from an Iranian mother and a non-Iranian father over 18, can apply for citizenship for their child.