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SUMMARY
- Filiation
- Marriage
- Monegasque naturalisation (articles 5 and 6 of the Law n° 1.155)
- Reintegration (article 7)
- Adoptive filiation
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Filiation
1) Paternal filiation
The child born of a Monegasque father is Monegasque (1st article 1° of the Law).
2) Maternal filiation
Since the passing of articles 1, 2°, 3° 4° and 5° of law n° 1.276 of 22 December 2003 :
- any person born of a Monegasque-born mother who was still of this nationality on the day of the birth,
- any person born of a Monegasque mother with a Monegasque-born ancestor,
- any person born of a Monegasque mother who acquired Monegasque nationality through naturalisation, reintegration or by declaration of option in pursuance of Law n° 974 of 8 July 1975,
- any person born of a mother who acquired Monegasque nationality by declaration following simple adoption,
acquires Monegasque nationality by right on the day of his/her birth.
Marriage
1) The marriage of a Monegasque subject (man or woman) has no effect on his/her nationality of origin. However, a Monegasque woman can on the day of her marriage renounce her Monegasque nationality when she acquires the nationality of her foreign spouse (article 9 of the Law).
2) Until the Law of 18 December 1992 was passed, a foreign woman who married a Monegasque became Monegasque by right on the day of her marriage. This rule, which dated back to the Civil Code of 1818, has been repealed. The wife of a Monegasque can now become Monegasque through a right of option that she can exercise after five years of marriage on condition that the spouses live together (article 3).
3) The husband of a Monegasque national has no legal right to acquire Monegasque nationality. His only recourse in this matter is to naturalisation.
Monegasque naturalisation (articles 5 and 6 of the Law n° 1.155)
1) Rules applying to Monegasque naturalisation
Any person who has been resident in Monaco for at least ten years following his eighteenth birthday can address an application for naturalisation to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince. The Prince can however grant exemption from this "preparatory" stage.
Naturalisation is subject to the discretionary power of the Sovereign Prince.
The Sovereign Decree of naturalisation can only be signed and published if, at the end of the procedure, the applicant satisfies the following two conditions :
- exemption from military obligations in his country of origin ;
- loss of his former nationality.
The collective effect of Monegasque naturalisation extends to children less than eighteen years old.
2) Procedure (cf. appendix I)
The Department of Legal Services is responsible in accordance with the clauses of the organic Decree of 9 March 1918 for investigating applications for naturalisation and presenting a report to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince. During the preliminary investigation phase of the application, several other authorities are consulted, in particular, the Minister of State, in pursuance of the exchange of letters with France when the constitution of 17 December 1962 came into force.
The French authorities are consulted on all applications favourably received by H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince before the publication of the Sovereign Decree in pursuance of Sovereign Decree n° 3.501 of 17 July 1947 which rendered enforceable the declaration of 16 June 1947 relating to naturalisation and reintegration issues in the Monegasque nationality and the confidential protocol that completes this declaration.
3) Criteria that are usually successful
- People with family links to the Monegasque community,
- People who are well integrated in the economic, social or cultural life of the Principality,
- People whom the Prince judges worthy of this favour.
4) Number of naturalised people :
Number of persons of age who have been naturalised Monegasque since the passing of Law n° 1.155 of 18 December 1992
1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
50 | 20 | 24 | 100 | 17 | 53 | 133 | 68 | 68 | 66 | 56 | 59 | 61 |
Reintegration (article 7)
Any person that has lost Monegasque nationality can be reintegrated by Sovereign Decree.
Adoptive filiation
A foreigner adopted in the legitimising way acquires Monegasque nationality under the same conditions as a natural child (article 1).
A foreigner adopted through simple adoption can acquire Monegasque nationality by option while he is a minor (article 2).
Neither residence, nor birth in the Principality give the right to acquire Monegasque nationality as could have been the case in the past ; with the exception of children born in Monaco from unknown parents who become Monegasque simply because they were born on Monegasque territory (article 1 – 6).
To summarize, the essential principles that govern the acquisition of Monegasque nationality are :
- the almost total absence of means of acquisition linked to ‘droit du sol’ (birth, residence) ;
- the continuity of the role of filiation (paternal filiation, adoptive filiation) in the handing down of Monegasque nationality ;
- the recent synchronisation of the right of nationality with principles recognised on an international level and in numerous internal laws (maternal filiation, marriage) ;
- the policy of family reunification brought about by naturalisation.
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