Historically, most of the world follows one of two legal principles:

• Jus Soli (Right of Soil): You are a citizen because you were born on the land. (Common in the Americas).
• Jus Sanguinis (Right of Blood): You are a citizen because your parents are. (Common in Europe and Asia).

What’s changing in 2026: The "unrestricted" versions of these are disappearing.

• In Europe: Almost no country offers unconditional birthright citizenship anymore. France, Germany, and the UK all now require parents to have lived there for several years before a child is born to get automatic citizenship.
• Ireland was the last holdout in Europe; they ended unconditional birthright citizenship in 2005.
• New Zealand and Australia also ended it in the 1980s and 2000s, moving to "conditional" systems where at least ...