Citizenship by Birth in Grenada (jus soli)
Citizenship in Grenada
- Eligibility
- Person born in Grenada on or after 7 February 1974 is a citizen by birth (Constitution s.96), subject to the diplomat-parent and enemy-alien-wartime exceptions.
- Timeline
- automatic
- Renunciation
- Not required
Overview
Person born in Grenada on or after 7 February 1974 is a citizen by birth (Constitution s.96), subject to the diplomat-parent and enemy-alien-wartime exceptions.
Who qualifies
- Grenada applies unqualified jus soli to births on its soil from independence: every person born in Grenada on or after 7 February 1974 becomes a citizen of Grenada automatically at the date of his or her birth (no parental-nationality requirement and no registration step), subject only to the two narrow s.96 provisos. - Maternal/paternal equality from independence: both the jus soli provisos (s.96) and the descent rule (s.97) are expressed in gender-neutral terms ('his or her father or his or her mother'), so a Grenadian mother transmits descent equally with a Grenadian father with effect from 7 February 1974. Grenada's Constitution did NOT carry the male-line-only transmission rule common in pre-reform Commonwealth nationality statutes.
Legal basis
Primary statute: Constitution of Grenada Cap 128A s.96. Operative 1974-02-07–present. Authority: Ministry of Home Affairs; Registrar.
Example scenarios
Eligible — Grenadian citizen by birth automatically.
Constitution Cap 128A s.96 confers jus soli on any person born in Grenada on or after 7 February 1974, regardless of the parents' nationality or immigration status. The only exclusions are the diplomatic-parent exception and the enemy-alien-during-wartime-occupation proviso; tourist parents trigger neither. Acquisition is automatic on the birth date (timeline_tier 'automatic').
Not eligible by birth — the diplomatic-parent exception applies.
Constitution Cap 128A s.96 excludes a child born in Grenada where a parent possesses diplomatic immunity (the diplomatic_service exclusion in the Route Universe). Because the father is an accredited diplomat, jus soli does not vest; the child remains French and would need a non-birth route (e.g., descent abroad rules of France, outside Grenada's scope) if seeking Grenadian status later.
Citizen — but under the s.94 independence-transition provisions, not the s.96 jus soli rule.
GD-BTH-01 (s.96) operates only for births on or after 7 February 1974. A person born in Grenada in 1968 acquired Grenadian citizenship on 7 Feb 1974 via the Constitution s.94 independence-day conversion (CUKC connected to Grenada becoming a citizen), not via s.96. The correct framing is the transition rule; s.96 jus soli does not apply retrospectively to the 1968 birth.
Eligible — Grenadian citizen by birth; the parents' immigration status is irrelevant to s.96 jus soli.
Constitution s.96 confers citizenship on any person born in Grenada on/after 7 Feb 1974 with no requirement as to the parents' nationality, documentation, or immigration status — only the diplomatic-parent and wartime-enemy-alien exceptions apply. The child of undocumented parents born in Grenada is a citizen by birth. This broad jus soli also functions as an anti-statelessness backstop in practice.
Informational summary compiled from primary legal sources — not legal advice. Citizenship law changes; verify with the competent authority before acting. Last verified 2026-06-14.
Track changes to this route
Descent and naturalization rules change. We'll email you in plain English when anything affecting Grenada updates — no spam.