A group of Tunisian lawmakers has submitted a comprehensive proposal of law to Parliament aimed at overhauling key sections of the country’s nationality Code in a bid to tighten eligibility for citizenship and adapt provisions relating to birthright nationality.
Under the draft legislation, naturalization would be conditioned on legal entry and a continuous seven-year lawful residence in Tunisia prior to applying, aligning the process with stricter residency and legal status criteria. The text further introduces specific provisions for children born in Tunisia to stateless or unknown parents, reshaping how nationality is conferred at birth.
In their rationale, the text sponsors argue that citizenship policy must reflect Tunisia’s sovereign priorities — balancing security, social cohesion and demographic stability — while ensuring that naturalization reflects a genuine sense of belonging and loyalty to the state. They also called for mechanisms to attract and grant nationality to highly skilled or strategically valuable individuals in areas such as science, culture, sport and the economy.
The draft bill proposes repealing and replacing Articles 8, 9, 10 and 20 of the current nationality Code with new wording that confers nationality on children born in Tunisia to stateless parents who have lived in the country for at least ten years; recognises as Tunisian any child found in Tunisia until proven otherwise, subject to later proof of foreign nationality; limits naturalization to those who entered lawfully and have maintained habitual residence for the required period.
The initiative will now proceed through parliamentary Committees for further review and debate before it can reach a plenary vote.
