Birth — foundling / conditional cases
Citizenship in Grenada
- Eligibility
- Foundling/abandoned newborn found in Grenada is deemed born in Grenada (Citizenship Act Cap 54 s.2(3)) unless the contrary is shown; conditional birth situations.
- Timeline
- automatic
Overview
Foundling/abandoned newborn found in Grenada is deemed born in Grenada (Citizenship Act Cap 54 s.2(3)) unless the contrary is shown; conditional birth situations.
Who qualifies
- Diplomat-child exception to jus soli: a person born in Grenada does NOT become a citizen under s.96 if, at the time of birth, neither parent is a citizen of Grenada AND the father or mother possesses such immunity from suit and legal process as is accorded to the envoy of a foreign sovereign power accredited to Grenada (s.96 proviso (a)). Both conditions (non-citizen parents AND diplomatic immunity) must be met. - Enemy-alien/wartime-occupation exception to jus soli: a person born in Grenada does NOT become a citizen under s.96 if, at the time of birth, the father or mother is a citizen of a country with which Grenada is at war AND the birth occurs in a place then under occupation by that country (s.96 proviso (b)). - Foundling presumption (statutory, NOT constitutional): where a new born infant is found abandoned in Grenada, that infant shall, unless the contrary is shown, be deemed to have been born in Grenada (Citizenship Act Cap 54 s.2(3)). Combined with jus soli (Const s.96), an abandoned newborn is presumed Grenadian by birth. The Constitution contains NO foundling clause; the basis is the statute, not s.96.
How to apply
- Ship/aircraft-birth deeming: a person born aboard a registered ship or aircraft, or aboard an unregistered ship or aircraft of the Government of any country, is deemed to have been born in the place in which the ship or aircraft was registered (or, as the case may be, in that country). The rule appears in BOTH the Constitution (Cap 128A s.100(3), for Part VII purposes) and the Citizenship Act (Cap 54 s.2(4)).
Legal basis
Primary statute: Citizenship Act Cap 54 s.2(3). Operative 1974-02-07–present. Authority: Registrar.
Example scenarios
Eligible — deemed born in Grenada and a citizen, unless the contrary is shown.
Citizenship Act Cap 54 s.2(3) creates a foundling presumption: a newborn deposited/abandoned and found in Grenada is deemed to have been born in Grenada to a Grenadian parent unless the contrary is proven. The deemed birth in Grenada then engages s.96 jus soli, making the foundling a citizen by birth. This is also one of the only domestic anti-statelessness safeguards Grenada has (it is not a party to the 1954/1961 statelessness conventions).
Presumption rebuttable — citizenship can be displaced 'unless the contrary is shown', but cannot leave the child stateless without ministerial discretion.
Cap 54 s.2(3) is expressly a rebuttable presumption ('unless the contrary is shown'). Proof that the child was actually born abroad to non-Grenadian parents who were merely transiting can rebut the deemed birth in Grenada. However, because Grenada lacks a treaty-based anti-statelessness guard, any displacement that risks statelessness would in practice fall to the discretionary SRO 6/1978 reg 2 stateless-person ministerial naturalisation route (GD-SPC-01), not an automatic outcome.
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
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