How to Get Kiribati CitizenshipKey facts
- Residence for naturalisation
- 7 years
- Language
- Required, no test
- Dual citizenship
- Not accepted
- Civic test
- Required, no test specified
- Criminal record
- A criminal record or good character condition applies
- Income condition
- Income or economic resources must be shown
- Dual citizenship in detail
- Not acceptedNew citizens must give up their previous citizenship.Citizens who naturalise abroad lose their citizenship automatically, with exceptions.
- Available routes
- Region
- Oceania
- Law in force as of
- 1 January 2024
- Last checked
- Not yet checked by our team
The rule text in the sections below was coded for the law on 1 January 2024. A November 2026 search found no later change for this country, but this has not been verified.
Naturalisation (residence)
Residence in Kiribati is the basis of this route, together with the other conditions below. Meeting the legal conditions does not guarantee approval, since authorities retain final discretion.
- Residence
- 7 years
Ordinarily resident in Kiribati for 7 years (waived if applicant has lost or renounced citizenship).
- Previous citizenship
- New citizens must give up their previous citizenship
Renunciation of citizenship of another country required.
- Language
- Required, no test or certificate specified
Ability to speak and understand Kiribati language.
- Civic knowledge
- Required, no test specified
Respect for customs and traditions of Kiribati, reasonable knowledge and understanding of the rights, privileges, responsibilities and duties of citizenship required.
- Criminal record
- A criminal record or good character condition applies
Good character required.
- Income or economic resources
- Income or economic resources must be shown
Person must have means of support.
Marriage or civil partnership
Marriage to a citizen of Kiribati is the basis of this route, together with the conditions below. Kiribati grants citizenship by operation of law, requiring no decision from any authority.
Woman who marries a person who is or becomes a citizen can apply for registration as a citizen of Kiribati. (Note gender discrimination: no similar provision for a male spouse of a citizen.)
Descent (citizen parent)
For a person with a parent who is a citizen of Kiribati, the rules below set out how this route works. Kiribati grants citizenship by operation of law, requiring no decision from any authority.
Descent (born in country)
Person is born in Kiribati after independence day (12 July 1979) and his/her father is a citizen or one of the parents is of I-Kiribati descent. Citizenship is not acquired if neither parent is a citizen and father (or mother if parents unmarried) is a foreign diplomat or person's father (or mother if parents are unmarried) is a citizen of a country with which Kiribati is at war and birth occurred in occupied place. (Note discrimination on the basis of gender and marital status.)
Descent (born abroad)
Person born outside Kiribati after independence day, as long as person's if father is or would have been a citizen of Kiribati on the date of person's birth. (Note gender discrimination - citizenship by descent through father only)
Child of a new citizen
This route covers children of a person who becomes a citizen of Kiribati, subject to the conditions below.
Transfer to a child
Person born outside Kiribati prior to independence day (12 July 1979) becomes a citizen if his or her father (or mother if person born outside marriage) becomes or would have become a citizen on independence day. (Note gender discrimination.)
Child coacquisition
Male applicant for naturalisation can request that his children become a citizen when he does. (Note gender discrimination: no similar provision for female applicants.)
Adoption
For people adopted by citizens of Kiribati, the rules below set out what applies. Kiribati grants citizenship by operation of law, requiring no decision from any authority.
Child becomes a citizen if the adopter, or in the case of a joint adopter - the male adopter - is a citizen (gender discrimination)
Other family members of citizens
This route covers certain family members not covered by the marriage or descent routes in Kiribati. Meeting the legal conditions does not guarantee approval, since authorities retain final discretion.
Male applicant for naturalisation can request that his wife becomes a citizen at the moment he acquires citizenship. (Note gender discrimination: no similar provision for female applicants and male spouse.)
Former citizens (reacquisition)
This route covers people who previously held citizenship of Kiribati, subject to the conditions below. Meeting the legal conditions does not guarantee approval, since authorities retain final discretion.
A woman who loses Kiribati citizenship by marrying a foreign citizen can apply to regain Kiribati citizenship if her marriage has broken down. (Note gender discrimination.)
Stateless persons
Statelessness, or the risk of it, is the basis of this route in Kiribati. Kiribati grants citizenship by operation of law, requiring no decision from any authority.
Person is born in Kiribati after independence day (12 July 1979) and person does not acquire another citizenship.
Not available in Kiribati: Birth in the country, Citizens of specific countries, Ethnic or cultural affinity, Residence during childhood, Very long residence, Refugees, Special achievements, Public or military service, Investment. Coded by GLOBALCIT for 1 January 2024 and updated with in-force changes.
Dual citizenship
As a general rule, the law of Kiribati does not allow a second citizenship in either direction.
- New citizens
- New citizens must give up their previous citizenship
- Citizens who naturalise abroad
- Citizens who naturalise abroad lose their citizenship automatically, with exceptions
Person not of i-Kiribati descent who became a citizen on independence day (12 July 1979) but does not renounce foreign citizenship within two years ceases to be Kiribati citizen (Constitution). Person not of I-Kiribati descent who became a citizen after independence day (12 July 1979) loses citizenship if he/she obtains another citizenship by voluntary act (other than marriage) (Citizenship Act).
Compare with neighbours
Kiribati requires 7 years, more years than the most common requirement of 5 years across Oceania.
See how Kiribati compares with every country in the residence ranking
| Country | Residence | Language | Dual citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
 Fiji | 5 years | Required, no test | Accepted |
 New Zealand | 5 years | Required, no test | Accepted |
 Papua New Guinea | 8 years | Required, no test | Not accepted |
 Samoa | 5 years | None | Accepted |
 Tonga | 5 years | Required, no test | Accepted |
 Tuvalu | 7 years | None | Accepted |
Official sources
This page was located by search and has not yet been checked by our team.
Naturalisation provisions: Nationality law: Art. 7.
Cite this page
TravelDecl. (n.d.). How to Get Kiribati Citizenship. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://traveldecl.com/citizenship/kiribati/
<a href="https://traveldecl.com/citizenship/kiribati/">How to Get Kiribati Citizenship</a> (TravelDecl, retrieved 5 November 2026)
Sources and licence
Vink, van der Baaren, Bauböck, Džankić, Honohan, Manby (2025). GLOBALCIT Citizenship Law Dataset v3.1. Global Citizenship Observatory, https://hdl.handle.net/1814/73190. CC BY 4.0. Modified by TravelDecl.
Modified by TravelDecl: updated with changes after 1 January 2024.
GLOBALCIT codes the law as written. Fees, processing times, quotas and how officials apply the rules in practice are not in this dataset: check them with the official authority.
FAQ
How many years to become a Kiribati citizen?
7 years of residence is the period for ordinary naturalisation in Kiribati. Other legal conditions also apply.
Does Kiribati allow dual citizenship?
Not as a general rule. The data codes dual citizenship as not accepted in Kiribati.
Do I need a language test for Kiribati citizenship?
Knowledge of the language is required, yet no formal test is defined.
Is there a civic knowledge test for Kiribati citizenship?
Demonstrating civic knowledge is necessary for Kiribati citizenship, yet no test format is specified.
Do I have to give up my current citizenship to get Kiribati citizenship?
Renouncing your current citizenship is a condition of Kiribati citizenship.
Can I get Kiribati citizenship by marriage?
Yes, Kiribati provides a marriage route. Procedure: automatic.
Can I get Kiribati citizenship by descent?
Yes, the law of Kiribati provides citizenship by descent from a citizen parent. Procedure: automatic.
Can I get Kiribati citizenship by investment?
The data shows no investment route for Kiribati.
Related pages
Also see: Kiribati passport, visa-free access and entry rules. Latest law changes.
Corrections to this page are handled by Sarah Kim, Fact-Checker.