The Baby That Changed Ireland's Constitution

Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/wonderwhy
In this video, I look at the complicated story of how one baby caused a legal and diplomatic crisis in the EU, leading Ireland to changing its constitution.
If you're interested in reading more about this story:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_v_...
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...
Chen v Home Secretary ECJ Case C-200/02:
eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conte...
Support the channel: / wonderwhy
Join the Discord: / discord
Select image/footage from Getty Images

[@fallout560]

Imagine growing up and finding your birth changed international law. Chosen one level backstory.

[@andrejs4984]

It is like harry potter defeating voldemort without even being aware of his existence at that point😂

[@izumocore]

I would be ashamed that my rich mother was being a manipulator of the system.

[@rasho2532]

​@@izumocoreHow is it shameful? She wanted citizenship for her child, she got it and hurt no one in the process, so why should she be ashamed?

[@ericp0012]

@@rasho2532It is morality wrong to use loopholes to take advantage of the system.

[@JUAN_OLIVIER]

You probably mean EU law.

[@swisstroll3]

People who can afford lawyers have more rights than people who can’t.

[@vonyx5601]

Ong

[@xXevilsmilesXx]

No, they just pay others to understand what their rights are better.

[@jeanlundi2141]

@@xXevilsmilesXx Nope. They effectively have more rights. Because while IN THEORY the rights are the same, they are not ENFORCED the same.

[@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993]

@@jeanlundi2141 but they have them. Enforcement is a different cup of tea

[@jeanlundi2141]

@@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993 It's not. A society were the rich have an easier time enforcing their rights is definately not fair. And if it's not fair, what we call rights are not right anymore, because they aren't something everyone has acess to. Let's not be hypocritical here. We know the world we live in. There is a system and some players play the system. Let's not pretened we are having a serious discussion about RIGHTS here.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Definitely a case of "Don't hate the player, hate the game." The child is truly innocent because she had no choice to be born there. The mother is crafty af.

[@MJW238]

Children benefit from their parent’s privilege.

[@FightXScience-wh6kx]

What did she do wrong?

[@blitzkrieg7745]

True but it isn't random who you are born to. There is a 100% chance you would be born to your parents and absolutely no one else on earth. That's just how genetics works.

[@Leviathan762-zh4lq]

More like the government was stupid af

[@eilzmo]

@@MJW238otherwise known as “legacy”. I’m curious what you mean to say here, did you state it cause you think kids shouldn’t benefit from their parents’ privilege?

[@I_dont_want_an_at]

of course she was wealthy. You can tell by her complex knowledge and planning, and her ability to pay for lawyers

[@MikehMike01]

and her extreme evil

[@ricochet4674]

@@nophone9311 Having the ability to does. Rich people aren't smarter than poor people but they for sure have more time and resources to accomplish those sorts of things. And yea lawyers lol.

[@maylok3508]

She is not wealthy. They take out loans that use both public sector loans, subsidies and more. Then this is what they get up to etc. I don't agree with this.

[@dakogiotini1993]

@@maylok3508 yk u cant just spout stuff without sources

[@vampyroteuthidae.]

​​​@@MikehMike01ehat exactly is evil in wanting to have 2 children when your home country restricts you in basic human rights? It's not like she killed someone for that.

[@LearnRunes]

Australia now requires a child born to foreign parents to legally remain in the country until they turn 10 to claim citizenship.

[@amiedavis5257]

I pray USA follows.

[@victordavalos246]

So technically the child is stateless? Or what nationality is that child during the 10 years period time?

[@MantasKutop]

​@@victordavalos246Pretty sure it's the parent's citizenship.

[@firebyrd437]

@amiedavis5257 The USA doesn't give automatic citizen rights to the parents though

[@alexkasacous]

Not exactly true - there are a number of different conditions based on parents' visa and citizenship status.

[@Monkechnology]

11:42 As an argentine i have to clarify some stuff. There's no "debate" here about the russian women having children here simply because most argentines are descendants of european immigrants and both the promotion of european immigration and birthright citizenship are enshrined in our constitution. Also most people don't care about it because we're in the middle of an economic crisis and we even joke about people wanting to come here.

[@Ausf]

It's less about wanting to come to Argentina itself, and more about not getting conscripted or jailed. Just being able to get out of Russia is reason enough for any non Russian passport.

[@alexlehrersh9951]

Liar iknow many argentinans who are against britright

[@ramirosotto]

@@alexlehrersh9951 Another argentine here. Maybe the ones you know are a loud minority on the internet. The vast majority here support birthright citizenship.

[@limonlabr]

​@@AusfI'll enlighten you, those who can afford giving birth in Argentina use those passports only to move to the US or EU after, once they have the Russian passport issue solved. Thus yeah they use it as a loophole and abuse the system

[@alexlehrersh9951]

When i said i know them i have seen them personally and they say otherwise@@ramirosotto

[@muinteoircharline2090]

Irish here 👋 Just to clarify, we didn't use to be British, we used to be occupied by Britain, and there's a difference.

[@basedelon]

Just to clarify, you were British ruled. You cannot change history.

[@muinteoircharline2090]

@@basedelon I agree, you can't. Maybe have a look at history further back than 900 years ago. The Gaels are not from Britain.

[@basedelon]

@@muinteoircharline2090 I know enough about ancient history to not bring it up in a video about passports and citizenship.

[@muinteoircharline2090]

@@basedelon you're the one who brought up history, and now you're telling me not to bring it up. My original comment was just to ask the video creator to be mindful not to imply that Irish people are just some breakaway Brits because of a decision we made one time to no longer be British. We never were British, we were occupied by Britain, so I stand by my original comment.

[@slifer0081]

​@dirtymexicanpaddyserf Irish people were always irish, they were just unwillingly occupied by the uk

[@awwastor]

Yeah hearing that she sued the Home Secretary of the UK made the “poor immigrant being seperated from her baby by bureaucracy” story a bit doubtful. Most poor immigrants don’t exactly have the resources to fly to NI and then sue the government

[@Xezlec]

There wasn't any poor immigrant story. He said she was very rich.

[@archingelus]

​@@Xezlecand understand the laws that leads them to suing the government as well, both lacking in the "poor immigrant" cases who neither has knowledge nor money to understand how such system works

[@sophiewang1025]

yes but the implications of the court decision could have separated poor immigrants from their children, no?

[@bashkillszombies]

There are no poor immigrants. All immigrants come from the top 1% of the country they are leaving, they are international logistical gamblers, nothing more. The megacorps however need the endless influx of scab labour to drive down living wages and dilute your vote (disenfranchise the natives) whilst causing infrastructure to fail allowing them access to huge grants, IMF funding, and lines of credit / megaloans. This keeps the top 1% of 1% getting filthy rich whilst destroying the political, purchasing, and enfranchisement powers of the native peoples. The megacorps fund journalists and militant classes like teachers, healthcare workers, etc, to push the humanitarian aspect to maintain the monopoly.

[@davidc4408]

@@archingelus a lot of lawyers worKing on no fee but percentage of financial winnings often cut the need out for that. Sure in this case they were wealthy but others used lawyers now offering that type of US service.

[@axelprino]

As an Argentinian I should probably mention that while Russians abusing that loophole to get passports was news here there wasn't much debate about it, the general response by the wider public was a resounding "meh, there's bigger and more urgent issues than that one". In total it was probably just a few hundred cases, in a country where immigration laws have been historically very lax, so people were more worried about those extra births potentially clogging the already struggling (the pandemic was still going on at that point) national healthcare system if an actual flood of birth tourism started than a bunch of Russians gaining citizenship faster than usual. In here the fact that anyone born inside of the national territory automatically gets citizenship has always been considered normal, and most of the population is at least partially descended from migrants so it'd be pretty dumb to close the borders now, as I said the first thing in everyone's minds when talking about people that abuse this system is the very realistic possibility that our public (and universal) healthcare system can collapse from demand at any moment because it's almost always underfunded thanks to the borderline constant state of economic crisis we're stuck in.

[@Nico-YrRy]

También el otro problema es que le estamos dando educación universitaria gratis a los inmigrantes, sin cupo. Así que , como acá, en la Unlp, hay más de un 40 por ciento de inmigrantes estudiando. Eso no está mal, pero deberíamos poner un límite a cuánto le damos gratis a alguien que se va a ir de acá

[@Nico-YrRy]

@@CR-rm4iy the problem isn't natives nor Russians, is the rest of Americans

[@adeemuff]

"In total it was probably just a few hundred cases" - nope, the numbers were in thousands. Russian media reported 2k+ cases in 2022, and additional 2k+ in the first half of 2023. Iberia and Aerolineas Argentinas pushed to hire more Russian-speaking staff for their flights just because of that. The thing is that Russians only want a passport. They have no intention to stay in Argentina more than needed, no desire to contribute to the Argentinian society. They just want a passport with visa-free travel opportunities (e.g. to Europe)

[@elis8669]

According to the data published by the National Bank, Georgia received around $3.6 billion from Russians via money transfers, tourism, and export of goods - this number makes up 14.6% of all Georgian economy. As a result, Georgia’s GDP grew by 10.1%. In just one fucking year. Same can happen to Argentina. Yet Russians who are fleeing the war are the brightest, most educated and ambitious people in Russia who don’t support any aggression. These people should be helped not isolated.

[@HUEHUEUHEPony]

@@Nico-YrRy no, la sociedad se beneficia mas por tener educacion gratis, que pelaos sin educacion pidiendo dinero directamente del govierno.

[@laurabenevides7061]

I'm from Brazil and here it's completely free. A child born in Brazil, no matter the parents, is brazilian. And the parents only need to live here one year to gain citizenship. I've studied a little bit about that in law school and there's no big discussion, we actually feel proud about how easy it is, because it means that those people are able to access the rights brazilian citizens have without too many barriers. That's garantied by our Constitution and our most recent migration law from 2017.

[@jonasbobbykins433]

Brazil really has nothing to lose when it comes to demographics

[@EnricoDias]

I just checked and it requires 4 years of legal residency, among other things. But apparently there is a "temporary citizenship" for young kids not born in Brazil.

[@laurabenevides7061]

Oh i was thinking about foreign parents of brazilian kids, in the case of the mother in the video. I should've specified. Still very low!

[@miahconnell23]

@laurabenevides7061 I love Brazil. They gave me free healthcare in a VERY busy hospital when I needed it. After the consult I asked “how do I pay you ? Eu sou um extranjeiro e não tenho um cartão de segurança” And the staff all said: don’t worry about that, we’re here to help.” (2011)

[@laurabenevides7061]

@@miahconnell23 we are very proud of our "free" healthcare system (as Brazilians often like to say "we do pay for it in taxes"). It has its problems (like the long wait because of the high demand), but it saves lives that otherwise would have no chance at all. Foreign or brazilian, it's free for all, because it's a human right, access to healthcare

[@Nurichiri]

The biggest downside to someone using birth tourism in the US is that the kid is on the hook for US taxes, no matter where they live in the world, unless they revoke their citizenship, which is almost as much of a pain as it is to get citizenship if you were born outside the US to two non-US born parents.

[@blowitoutyourcunt7675]

My sister who lives in Japan and is a US citizen has paid no US taxes nor has her children, maybe she's living "illegally" by not paying but it's been 10 years and no one's come after her and she hasn't seen a tax bill either.... So anecdotally your claim is false and oddly enough our whole family has researched this because her husband has claimed it will happen if they move back to the US. That claim has kept her coercively controlled by him for a decade, living in fear that she can't divorce him and bring her kids home. When everything that we've researched including consultations with lawyers, has directly contradicted his and your statement. Yes when she moves back here and starts working, then she'll have taxes to pay but that's just like the rest of us!

[@bmolitor615]

true that.

[@feral_orc]

​@@blowitoutyourcunt7675 I can just go to the IRS website to prove you're wrong dude. It's literally the first thing on their FAQ for "International Individual Tax Matters". Anecdotes won't help. This is what the Federal Government says

[@kirbya9545]

Why would you not want to live in the US if you could?

[@feral_orc]

@@kirbya9545 all the crime, domestic terrorism, inequality, workers rights issues and poor access to healthcare services

[@meganh7526]

I have a cousin who did the whole birth tourism thing in Canada (where I was born and raised). She is from one of the poorest countries in SE Asia BUT has a lifestyle I could never dream of. Private drivers, multiple house keepers and nannies, living in a gated community etc etc. she also had the baby and promptly returned home. On the flip side, my mother and her whole family immigrated to Canada and the US as adults and pursued citizenship the more traditional way. It does frustrate me to see wealthy people take advantage of laws of countries they have no interest in living in. I don’t believe any child should be born stateless - but to me there is a big difference between a family who is trying to actually set roots and be part of a country and parents who just don’t want to pay international student tuition in 18 years.

[@Babumoshai..]

Is she from bangladesh?

[@kosmos3718]

@@Babumoshai.. BD aint South East Asia

[@justjj21]

I nannied for an upper middle class/ upper class family in Italy who did the same thing. Interesting thing was, the mom was born in the US also so had American citizenship although her English was pretty bad because she never really lived in the US. She had her first kid in Italy but turns out because she hadn't lived in the US for 5 years or something, she couldn't pass on the citizenship. So then she gave birth to her second kid in NY. As the kid of immigrants who went through a lot to get a green card as they were here on "special ability" PHD visas, it does make me upset these rich people around the world do this.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

​@@justjj21 you shouldn't be upset with that Italian lady though. She was a US citizen.

[@justjj21]

@@DSan-kl2yc She was, but she was also randomly born in the US to non US citizen parents who were only in the US briefly and then moved to Italy soon after. So she didn't grow up speaking English or with any cultural ties to the US. She wanted the citizenship for her kids in case they want to move to the US or go to college here. Essentially 2 generations of birth tourism. I think what makes a person American is either having American parents who can pass on the culture to you or at least being educated here, or spent a while here as an adult, so you at least know the culture. Not just for Americans but for the concept of citizenships in general, because otherwise citizenship is kind of meaningless. Although maybe it is nowadays.

[@CrimsonEclipse]

I met many rich chinese who was able to bypass the one-child policy without giving birth overseas. They mostly paid a huge fines. Since they were rich they could afford. The reason many rich chinese parents tried to give birth overseas or helped their kids get citizenship overseas is mostly an option of multi-citizenship and multi- residency. It's also a possibility of money laundering because of China's strict laws and control over people's assets.

[@andrewkirch5920]

I don't think that Samantha Chen was as rich as is claimed here. The Chinese state was going to force her to get an abortion.

[@CrimsonEclipse]

@@andrewkirch5920 what I read the fines was $370 to $12, 800. The price increase the more childern you get. I knew someone who's family had like 6 kids and there parents weren't super rich but was willing to paid the fees.

[@andrewkirch5920]

@@CrimsonEclipse what you're talking about aren't fines so much as they are bribes paid to corrupt officials to look the other way. In this case Man Chen WAS pressured to abort Catherine.

[@ErikPT]

Eh not really it's because the affluent don't trust the party's trust and know their money are NOT safe under Beijing's control.

[@CrimsonEclipse]

@@ErikPT pretty much. It's another reason many rich chinese families tried to get residency and citizenship somewhere else.

[@NitroIndigo]

I like how you displayed the screenshots of news articles like pieces of paper on a table.

[@doubledeckyomom]

Thanks

[@Auroral_Anomaly]

@@doubledeckyomom??

[@tilotequilo7455]

How to do that?

[@Grizabeebles]

I'd like to know the name of the presentation software as well.

[@Auroral_Anomaly]

@@tilotequilo7455 You can do it easily just by rotating and resizing the screenshots.

[@mairedaly4926]

Irish hospitals, doctors & nurses etc. lobbied hard during the constitutional amendment campaign regarding birth right citizenship. They claimed (not wrongly) that Irish maternity system was under great strain with huge numbers of women presenting heavily pregnant/in labour in Irish hospitals The medical staff had no patient history and felt they were placed in a very stressful situation where the life of the mother & child were at great risk

[@ChristieLily35]

People vastly overlook the medicale system when talking about immigration. It doesn't matter where in the world you are: showing up at a hospital where you have no access to medical history is terrifying for everyone. Especially if there are language barriers and the system isn't prepared with a translator.

[@mairedaly4926]

Even though the loss of birth right citizenship created a serious social & bureaucratic, problem (the children, then, belong nowhere), you're right @@ChristieLily35 the medical issue was a very compelling argument from the medical sector the swung the vote

[@alguem24]

​@@mairedaly4926Wouldn't they just belong to their parents' states?

[@WamMom2010]

​@alguem24 not necessarily. I have a friend who was born in a refugee camp and her birth certificate has no country listed because the country where the camp was wouldn't claim her and the country the parents were fleeing from wouldn't claim her either.

[@mjh5437]

You should have had the guts to say the real problem is that REAL Irish people are having their tax money spent on International Health Tourists and we can`t get GP and Hospital and Dentist appointments because we`re flooded with foreign invaders like this one!!

[@sebby324]

My grandma was born in Northern Ireland but her family all lived in the Republic of Ireland as they lived so close to the border the closest hospital was in Northern Ireland so they gave her a Republic of Ireland birth certificate She moved to the uk (England) so when I was born I’m British but we found out recently that it meant I had been an Irish citizen my whole life without knowing so I just need to apply for a passport and I’m a duel citizen

[@0rionica]

Will it give you some benefits?

[@sebby324]

@@0rionica yes EU citizenship

[@xragdoll5662]

I mean you’re not a citizen because you don’t live in Ireland. Nor were you born here. But yes, you have dual nationality like myself. But not much. You said grandma, not your mom.

[@khoado2060]

@@xragdoll5662Citizenship is basically nationality for like 99% of cases…

[@kiringuyen]

@@0rionicaafter Brexit, yeah 😅

[@gi7kmc]

Birth tourism was quite common in Belfast until the change. You would have expectant mothers arriving on a flight from England without any medical notes which was not great from a patient care and safety point of view.

[@celieboo]

I trained in Dearborn, MI. We were the closest maternity ward to the airport. We frequently (like at least two or three times a week) received term patients fresh off the plane, sometimes by EMS, from any number of middle eastern countries. And when I say say fresh off the plane, I mean they had suitcases in tow. It was so frustrating.

[@taichiwinchester1102]

Did birth tourism increase after brexit? I suppose British parents who want EU citizenship for their newborns can still do it by giving birth in Northern Ireland.

[@johnythefox100]

@@taichiwinchester1102 Did you not follow the video? The Irish constitution was changed to remove anchor babies, as they were called at the time. There was a big debate over it and the refferendum was carried with massive support.

[@taj-sid]

@@johnythefox100 The law was changed but if "you" watched the video and understand irish nationality law you would have saw at 1:16 that the annex states that the parent must be britsh or irish and that's what the law states after the change to the consitiution.

[@johnythefox100]

@@taj-sid desperate for that EU pasport are you? 😁

[@haweater1555]

10:55 "Anchor babies" born in the US to foreign parents can sponsor these parents for residency when they turn 21. For people from India, that's actually a valid strategy to obtain a way to move to the US. Fly pregnant to America, have child, fly home, and wait 21 years for child to become of age (and hoping in the meantime the regulation doesn't change which it easily can). It is still faster than waiting 30 years - in some cases over 100 years on paper, until an Indian's application moves through the quotas for family-reunion residency visas. For Mexicans, the US immigration service is now processing family member visas that were first submitted... in the year 1998.

[@josephwodarczyk977]

That feels really backwards. Life if anything, turning 21 is the point where you no longer need your parent around. "Congrats, you're an adult. So that means you're allowed to see your mom each day now."

[@charlotteritchie9969]

I'm very interested in this Mexican stat at the bottom if you can provide a source for me!

[@Radiorobot1]

@@josephwodarczyk977well you wouldn’t just leave the child in the US with this strategy unless you already had family there for them to grow up with. You’d just bring your dual US/[home country] citizen baby back home with you, raise them normally at home, then let them use their citizenship to go to US college and sponsor your immigration once they’re done.

[@B3Band]

"Just wait 21 years" isn't exactly a great loophole lol It's like waiting for your parents to die so you can sneak out of the house after curfew.

[@AlesAmazigh]

😂 It's unbelievable how much paranoïa you racist c*nts can go through just to disallow a pregnant woman from entering on the off-chance she may acquire citizenship 21 f-ing years later. *Hurr durr don't tuch muh gret cuntry*... how pathetic.

[@blerst7066]

Birth tourism was very popular among South Korean mothers too, usually to avoid conscription. It was so common that in my school days, at least one kid in my year would have American citizenship.

[@taoliu3949]

The irony is that it only works if the kids leave Korea before they finish school, otherwise they will not be allowed to leave and still end up conscripted.

[@flaetsbnort]

It would be hilarious if Catherine's choice of college was law or international relations...

[@thandisilec835]

The video said she’s doing medicine in US

[@champan250]

​​​@@thandisilec835to be more accurate, google search says she went to a New Jersey prep high school and then doing pre-pharmacy major at Purdue, and is one of the good students and making the Dean's List every year.... I say this is an equivalent of achieving a second honor level at Oxford or Cambridge.... And no offense to UK people here, being an Asian applying to schools in the US, it is harder to get into Purdue than getting accepted into Oxbridge this is a loss of UK and Europe in losing the talent retention fight against the US

[@purpledevilr7463]

This women played 4D chess.

[@ericp0012]

It’s amazing that the system is rewarding this woman and her child.

[@JavierNYC423]

@@ericp0012stop crying

[@spacemanx9595]

​@@JavierNYC423stop abusing the system.

[@GlennWolfschoon]

At 3:40 you mentioned that the baby was entitled to live in the UK since she was an EU citizen, and this was before Brexit. Irish people have ALWAYS been allowed to live in the UK and still are. Since due to law UK does not consider Irish citizens as foreign.

[@WonderWhy]

Catherine's right to live in the UK was never up for debate. The court case was about Ms. Chen's right to live with her daughter. That's why she sued the Home Secretary after her residency application was denied.

[@rynewtk]

@@WonderWhy He's addressing the reason you provided for why Catherine was allowed to live in the UK, that is to say you cited her EU citizenship, but her Irish citizenship allows her to live in the UK regardless of EU status. Even now that the UK has left the EU that is still true. His comment had nothing to do with her mother.

[@WonderWhy]

Fair enough. I only cited the EU in the video, because it's what's relevant to the case. My comment was just clarifying for anyone confused.

[@GlennWolfschoon]

@@WonderWhy you could have at least mentioned the Ireland Act of 1949 and that if Ireland had never changed its constitution this would still be possible today.

[@TheRealSpeedWolf]

@@GlennWolfschoon this is already a very complex story. I'm going to give him a break on this. he's only human.

[@nua1234]

This case was only a tiny part of why Ireland restricted birth right citizenship. Main reason was the perceived abuse by economic migration who had their application for asylum rejected and using their child’s Irish citizenship as a way to stay in Ireland.

[@MolonyProductions]

Yet our government continue to import people by the bucket load

[@sanchoodell6789]

Anchor babies as they're known in the US

[@connordevine9872]

The main reason Was the actual abuse taking place, African women arriving 8 months pregnant who could not be put back on flights because they were late term, this also occurred with middle Eastern women so much so that the most popular name in Ireland in the early 2000s was Muhammad.

[@plushie946]

​@@connordevine9872eh, a lot of that is just tory talking points. Jack James and Conor have been the most common male baby names in Ireland since at least 2000. As for a lot of people of African and Middle Eastern descent in Ireland, that could be said of most European countries, and Ireland has a far from perfect immigration system but still has taken in a fairly high number of refugees and people emigrating from warzones.

[@csrjjsmp]

Instead of Muhammad maybe they should have just called their babies potato so the Irish would have been too scared to drive them out

[@firebyrd437]

You can't really blame the mother for wanting another child, and it is ridiculous the lengths she had to go to just to have one

[@dylandoyle493]

A regular want lead her to execute an evil plan. Ideal.

[@crissd8283]

Blame China.

[@jenniferbates2811]

Exactly

[@berniefynn6623]

NOT OUR PROBLEM, the kid is chinese not BRITISH< sod the Law,this is why we wanted out of the EU.

[@ydcee3123]

​@@berniefynn6623Just...wow!

[@Legoless]

Good summary of an important EU case. The legal ramifications of Chen vs Home Secretary on the rights of European citizens were profound.

[@KeithRuffles]

There's still a legacy right to Irish citizenship by birth for the children of British citizens. My daughter was born in Northern Ireland in 2018 to me (an English father) and a Russian mother, which was enough to get her Irish citizenship as even after the change to the Irish Constitution babies born anywhere on the island of Ireland with at least one British parent continue to be entitled to Irish citizenship. So, we have an Irish child whose parents aren't Irish in any way themselves.

[@jamesmorgan8505]

She would also be entitled to British citizenship as you are a British citizen. Therefore, your child is both British and Irish.

[@MWBlueNoodles]

​@@jamesmorgan8505only if she chooses to be.

[@preacaininternational5637]

Ireland is the fairest state.

[@owenbreward4974]

@@jamesmorgan8505 She'd also be entitled to Russian citizenship, as her mother is Russian. And, in this crazy world we live in, I'd be opting for that. It gives her more choices when she grows up - work, visa-free travel (e.g., on Russian, she can travel to China visa-free), study etc. The world is her oyster!

[@owenbreward4974]

@@MWBlueNoodles Not so. If one of your parents are British then you ARE British whether you like it or not. It's not a choice but rather a birthright. And, as her parent would be the one who gets to decide what passports she gets right from birth, she would be able to prove she's British from her British passport. The choice she has is whether or not she maintains her British passport. The more passports you can get the better life you'll have because, as an adult, you have more options. During Covid many countries closed their borders. However, with 6 passports, you'd be able to choose based on which of those 6 countries is treating their citizens better and move to that country instead. Also, different countries have different visa requirements. If you find you can travel to the USA on your Canadian passport without a visa (which is true) but you need a visa for all the other 5 countries you have passports for, then of course you'd travel on your Canadian passport. Likewise, as this persons daughter is the daughter of a Russian, she'd also be entitled to Russian citizenship which may not seem like a passport you'd want to have. But think about it ... Russian citizens can travel visa-free to many countries that British and Irish citizens need a visa for (e.g., China). Although you may not agree with the current politics of a certain nation (by your comment I imagine you don't with the UK), doesn't mean that you shouldn't afford your child(ren) the greatest advantage for their future. Because no one today knows what tomorrow holds. The UK might be a powerhouse in the future or it might be a complete dud ... but either way, why not afford the best opportunities for your child(ren)'s future success. Because, after all, the more passports you can give your children (for travel, work, study and visa-free access to other countries), the more choices they'll have and, as such, the better, easier life they'll have.

[@idrisatardis5553]

I am from Hong Kong so this is quite relevant. There were (probably still are) so many mothers crossing the border to give birth here for their children to gain citizenship and everything that comes with it. The wealthy in China always try to seek multi-citizenship or the like to protect their assets because of the nature of the authoritarian CCP. The children of the most powerful, the most vocal mouthpieces, are often living abroad which should tell you enough about how they really feel about their country.

[@strawberries217]

It's not about CCP omg. It's about they took a lot of money from people in China, max out their loans borrowed in their hometown credit unions in China, then run off to other countries to keep their so called wealth. Evergrande is a good example, the founder has his family in US, he lied to Chinese govt. to give him some time for refinancing and figuring how to payback. He instead fled to US and setup irrevocable trust and protection to secure all the money he took from all the investors in China to US. His whole business is built upon lies and that has nothing to do with CCP.

[@onlywei]

Even if the CCP were not authoritarian, it’s a good idea to diversify your assets so they’re not all in one system.

[@cynthiac2739]

@@onlyweithe point is if you do business or work in government and if CcP hates you, you may get arrested and disappeared, savings and properties seized by CCp anytime they want

[@onlywei]

@@cynthiac2739 I know what their point is. I have an uncle who was “disappeared”. They let him out of jail after a few years and they don’t bother him anymore.

[@dabo5078]

Well if they really wanted to get rid of you no citizenship would keep you safe.@@cynthiac2739

[@dgillies5420]

Birth Tourism is also a thing in the United States. We rented our San Diego house out in 2011 but in the first year we had a chinese young woman - a kept woman of a rich chinese man who was not married to this woman. Ick. We didn't know it was birth tourism until 3/4 through the lease when she gave birth. She left a month after having the child but paid the rest of the lease (about 2 extra months whereby the house remained unoccupied.)

[@LeanneGodfried-jp5uh]

It is always the chinese

[@Trgn]

@@LeanneGodfried-jp5uh Only losers hate. Birth tourism is legal in the US.

[@niall7597]

Note: the common travel area predates the EU and allows Irish citizens in Britain and vise versa. The baby would still be allowed in the UK anyways after brexit

[@WonderWhy]

Catherine's right to live in the UK was never in question. It was about her mother's right.

[@niall7597]

@@WonderWhy Ah I understand that, just in the video you mention Catherine being a EU citizen, and say 'this was before brexit after all'. The common travel area triumphs over the EU in terms of cross island immigration.

[@WonderWhy]

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last video. Something a bit different for this time. This is story of one baby caused a legal and diplomatic crisis in the EU, and led to Ireland changing its constitution. What's your opinion on Ms. Chen's actions? Once again, this video is sponsored by Nebula, the creator owned streaming service. Get 40% off the subscription price by signing up to the annual plan using my link: go.nebula.tv/wonderwhy As always, thanks so much for watching, hope you all enjoyed the video. I'll see you next time!

[@CrazyBar50cal]

Just to add to this. The child as a Irish citizen had the right to live in the UK from Birth regardless of EU law so had the right to live there under Irish, UK and EU law.. Ireland and the UK have an agreement the citizens of each county can live, work in and even vote in each country when living there. This agreement predates the EU and is still in place post brexit.

[@WonderWhy]

@@CrazyBar50cal Catherine's right to live in the UK was never in question, it was about Ms. Chen's right to live with her daughter. Or, at least to get permanent residency so she could legally have a child that wasn't a Chinese citizen, and avoid the One-child policy.

[@OscarOSullivan]

@@CrazyBar50calI think even Irish citizens can run for election to the house of commons

[@OscarOSullivan]

⁠@@WonderWhyWhile I think it is a great video while you said the southern part of the island became independent the states name is Republic of Ireland as the most northerly point of the island of Ireland is in Donegal which is in the Republic. The one child policy has caused a large male surplus population in China.

[@andrewbourke288]

​@@OscarOSullivanIrish citizens in the UK are completely equal to British citizens once they're residents for 6 months as far as I've seen

[@meeeka]

Another baby changed Ireland's legal/constitutional history. I think the story is this: The baby's mother became sick and needed an abortion, which was illegal in Ireland. Because she couldn't get one, the mother died during delivery, leaving behind the baby. People were so outraged that a mother had to die because she needed a procedure, there was a referendum (I believe) which overturned Ireland's draconian and old fashioned abortion laws. It's good that Ireland has been flexible to the needs of its people.

[@theresanolan1157]

yes ..The womans name was Savita Halapanaver, what happened to Savita in the maternity hospital while in labour was beyond barbaric and in humane..may peace be upon her and her family...

[@Greenwillow]

She was not an Irish citizen and presumed she could get an abortion at the time. Its sad what happened for her family and good that abortion was allowed but there is still issues to it to this day.

[@ColinTherac117]

So a mother died for the sake of her child, the way humans are supposed to be. The life of the next generation is always more important than the lives of the current adults, its why children are evacuated from the boats first. Killing the children for the sake of the adults is utterly backwards, barbaric, and uncivilized.

[@Lesleycb71]

​@ColinTherac117 Are you saying that, eg, a woman is expecting her 4th child something happens which means continuing the pregnancy could kill the mother. Are you saying we should let the.mother die and leave the father to raise 4 children on his own rather than terminate the 4th pregnancy and have the older 3 children grow up with both their parents?

[@jamesneville2746]

I, born in Canada, discovered in 2016 when I was 60 years old that I had Eire citizenship through my mother, who was born in Belfast and moved to Canada with her parents in 1929 when she was 5 years old. I was able to obtain an Irish passport pretty easily once I got the required documentation. So I can live, work, and buy property anywhere in the EU, though I have visited there for only a total of about 3 months in my lifetime! I could retire to Malta, French Guiana, or the Canary Islands!

[@joanaferreira91]

Wait, that doesn't make sense: Belfast is in Northern Ireland, part of the UK since 1921, I think; so because of brexit the UK leaves the EU and so does Northern Ireland. How can you live, work or buy property in the EU if the NI is not part of EU anymore?

[@Alejojojo6]

@@joanaferreira91 People in Northern Ireland can choose to have Irish Citizenship or British Citizenship due to the Trouble accords that stopped the conflict between Unionist pro-british and republican/nationalist pro-irish. So her mum probably chose/had irish passport and thus because he is the son of an Irish Citizen you are entitled to request citizenship.

[@hotbeefymcd8162]

You are half Irish and you only realised aged 60 that you might be entitled to Irish citizenship?

[@joanaferreira91]

@@Alejojojo6 Thanks for your clarification, that makes a lot more sense.

[@jamesneville2746]

@@hotbeefymcd8162 The reason was that my Mum was from Belfast and she and her parents would not have wanted to be Irish citizens. They were all Orangemen!

[@Juan-su5ry]

I am from Argentina and it's the first time I heard that there is a debate about making citizenship harder.

[@Monkechnology]

Because there is no debate here. I wonder why this channel is spreading misinformation about our country...

[@Luke_05]

maybe the articles he shown said that, and that’s why he said there was a debate happening

[@D.S.handle]

@@Luke_05yeah, I’m guessing that also.

[@alexlehrersh9951]

Liar@@Monkechnology

[@danielp415]

@@Monkechnology it's hard to know if there truly is a "debate" when you only read news articles. I doubt the creator came to BsAs to interview everyday people. They just read highly sensationalized articles.

[@firstcynic92]

8:24. Would that "illegal content" on the judge's computer happen to be 2 words staring with the letters C and P? 🤔

[@WonderWhy]

Yes, and apparently he claimed that the Secret Service framed him...

[@TotoDG]

I hate to say it, but it _would_ explain why he was so interested in a case involving a baby...

[@zupergodo1]

Ese juez segun lo que creen conspiraciones hizo de muchos enemigos de alto nivel por lo que el mi5 lo jodio

[@roseashkiiii4361]

It's Club Penguin duh

[@libertylovin2359]

​@@WonderWhy Well, US Agencies are pretty crooked.

[@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460]

This was a magnificent and highly informative video. Thank you so much!!!! I'm in Washington, DC (USA), and never heard of this case.

[@EvilTaco]

12:21 I like some options luxembourg has for gaining citizenship. One is if you were born in luxembourg and have lived there for at least 5 consecutive years, you can get citizenship once you're 12. Or if you've followed the luxembourgish education system for at least 7 years. There's many more of these possible ways to get the citizenship, which should prevent kids who've lived in the country for their entire life (and their parents, there's one clause stating that parents of luxembourgish citizens can also automatically get it) from being forced away

[@jamesrowland9982]

I was born in 1958 my parents were US citizens, my father was stationed at an American air force base in France and that base was US territory. So I had automatic US citizenship. But not French...even though I have a report of birth via French govt paperwork. 3 months later or so, we returned to the states and was raised there. So in 2003, I immigrated to Israel and when asked where I was born, I explained my circumstances, but the Israelis could not understand it and so on my national id card , it lists my nationality as French . Weird huh?

[@joepschoenmakers8599]

The base wasn't US territory per se but legally is seen as US territory.

[@user-xp5id1kh4r]

"could" or "couldn't" the Israelis understand it? Also, how is Israel? I've been thinking about trying to get out of the US for 5-10 years just to experience more of the world since I'm a relatively young, educated engineer.

[@jamesrowland9982]

@@user-xp5id1kh4rSorry, it was couldn't. Then again, it could have been laziness.

[@jamesrowland9982]

@@joepschoenmakers8599 Since I was a child, my parents just said it was US territory and never made the distinction. It was that way until France left NATO.

[@deadcatbounce3124]

I didn't think France ever had birthright citizenship, odd that the Israelis couldn't differentiate between France being your place of birth and your American citizenship/nationality.

[@danh6587]

When the world needed him he has returned

[@horatiotodd8723]

Yes

[@JPJ432]

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.

[@sexypancake1]

This was very interesting. Your voice is also very soothing and easy to listen to. Thanks for posting!

[@Attaxalotl]

Birth Tourism is actually why my grandfather is a U.S. Citizen! His parents were from Mexico; but he was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Because the 14th Amendment applies to everyone born in the United States, he is a U.S. Citizen despite growing up in Mexico.

[@resolecca]

coz you didn't cross the border the border crossed you, same thing that happened to my ex-husband but in a completely different part of the world. You know being born in California (although I doubt this would ever happen, at least not in my lifetime) but if Mexico ever got California back which citizenship would I be entitled to? The US, Mexican both? and if i am entitled to American citizenship would it be because California was part of America when I was born there?? Or because my dad was born in New York which would still be part of America?? its just a fun thought experiment with no real-world consequences in my life, unless of course, it was to happen.

[@martinvlcek5332]

@@resolecca if the border crossed him, but he didn't cross the border, why did he have to cross the border thereafter? come on, use your brain. Mexico was an Empire, they were as colonial in California as the USA. stop whining and THINK.

[@itsmattxxiii]

Babe wake up, WonderWhy uploaded a new video!

[@SterbsMcGurbs]

Babe, wake up. A KZbin commenter is being very original with their comments.

[@ArgKaiser]

Yes honey...

[@itsmattxxiii]

@@SterbsMcGurbs I'm really pushing the limits on what is possible in the KZbin comment section

[@saalok]

She is dead, Jim

[@ThatAutisticGuy]

I have lived in Northern Ireland since birth and I have dual British and Irish citizenship. Both are automatically granted from birth. Both of my parents were Northern Irish, from a Protestant/ British background. So I got my Irish passport when I was legally old enough to apply for myself as an adult. I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of this story. Fantastic video as always! Edit: Earlier I wrongly stated that Irish citizenship wasn’t automatically granted from birth for NI citizens but though obtainment of a passport. I didn’t even think of how ridiculous that would be to charge citizens to affirm their birthright of Irish Citizenship. I had a biased education that didn’t focus on NI and Irish history and looked to an incorrect government source for information. I have since looked at the original Good Friday Agreement document and corrected myself. Apologies!

[@jackjoyce1744]

Can I guess was that because of Brexit by any chance? I’m in a similar boat.

[@zoso7889]

The fact that you were issued with an Irish passport by virtue of being born in one of the 32 counties Ireland, implicitly implies that you always had Irish citizenship. The passport or lack of one does not confer citizenship. Protestants in the 6 counties are often reluctant to acknowledge this.

[@johnhandelaar]

This is 100% false: Irish citizenship *is* an automatic right from birth for all people born in Northern Ireland, and has been for over 100 years. Both of his parents were also Irish citizens, but merely chose not to get passports.

[@ThatAutisticGuy]

@@jackjoyce1744 I got my Irish passport late in 2013, just several months after Cameron floated the idea of Brexit, if the conservatives won a majority in the 2015 general election. For me that was just a coincidence and I wasn’t particularly following politics at that time. My British passport was due for renewal around the same time and I just never had it renewed since as I wouldn’t have any benefit in having two valid passports. There were a few reasons as to why I got an Irish passport and made myself a dual citizen. The main reason being that I was offered a videography job in northern Pakistan to document the opening of a new airport. My boss strongly advised not travelling on my British passport as there isn’t exactly the greatest relationship between the two countries. Ultimately though due to the volatility of that region and the presence of the Taliban, the job fell through a few weeks prior to us leaving to go there. I’ve always identified as both Irish and British. So actually attaining Irish citizenship though a passport would affirm my identity. An Irish passport is cheaper than a British one and it allows you to use the faster EU security queue in European airports!

[@bisneytm1511]

I'm also from northern ireland but have only had an Irish one because it was cheaper and its better but its a bit dumb for my aunt who's 60 lived in ireland since she was like 5 but can't get an Irish passport

[@101spacemonkey]

Birth tourism is still a thing. I'm from NI and I'm currently elsewhere in the UK and pregnant. A surprising amount of people want to give birth in NI to try and get an Irish passport due to Brexit despite the fact the NHS in NI is on its knees and that would be super risky

[@YouTubefan-yj4rp]

Birthright citizenship still exists in Ireland, but slights restricted. Those who are Irish citizens include: 1. Persons born in the island of Ireland (Republic and Northern Ireland) to at least one Irish parent 2. Persons born in the Island Ireland to a British parent 3. Persons born on the island of Ireland to a parent with permanent residence (in the republic of Northern Ireland) Examples for permanent residence in the Republic include permanent residence in the Republic. Examples for the UK (including Northern Ireland) include Indefinite Leave to remain, Permanent Residence under the EU Settlement Scheme, and Right to re-admission. 4. Persons born in the island Ireland to a foreign parent, who has been domiciled in the Republic for at least 3-years 5. Persons born in Ireland to a foreign parent, who is entitled to Irish citizenship 6. Children who were (or are assumed to be) born in the island Ireland to unknown parents 7. Persons born in the island Ireland, who would otherwise be stateless 8. Persons born abroad to an Irish parent, who was born in the island Ireland 9. Persons born abroad to a foreign parent, who was born in the Republic and is entitled to Irish citizenship 10. Persons born abroad to an Irish parent, who was also born abroad; provided the birth is registered with the Irish Embassy within six months.

[@101spacemonkey]

@@KZbinfan-yj4rp doesn't stop people from apparently trying though

[@YouTubefan-yj4rp]

@@101spacemonkey Anyone born in Northern Ireland to a British parent is both a British citizen by birth, and an Irish citizen by birth.

[@YouTubefan-yj4rp]

@@101spacemonkey The child can pass down both his British and Irish citizenship.

[@Glibglabglob]

In China, the one child policy only practically applied to the middle class or above population, since they were the only people with something to lose. If you were a poor farmer in the sticks, the government couldn’t do much if you had a second child. Worst case would be a fine that you couldn’t pay, so the local officials would’ve try very hard to collect.

[@HeisenbergFam]

This baby truly took grandma's "you are the strongest person in the world" advice to heart and changed Ireland

[@andrewkirch5920]

tough as hell. Still is.

[@RedJadeArt]

13:12 the wording of birthright citizenship for people born outside of ireland made perfect sense at the time. The republicans, the dominant political philosophy in Ireland, have long held the stance that the entire island is actually the republic, and the north is just an occupied territory of one country. The whole point of the Good Friday Agreement was to get Ireland to recognise the North as a separate territory - Which they did, in return for a bunch of concessions. Like the one about not having border infrastructure; doing anything to impede movement of Irish people through their own country. There’s a reason Irish people were so against any post brexit border checks. The part about extending birthright citizenship to people born in the north is to guarantee that, say, a child born to two northern Irish parents of historically Catholic descent wouldn’t be trapped in the north. That makes perfect sense to me.

[@miahconnell23]

I did *not* see that angle: but I DID see the Republic creating a law that includes and applies to the North part of the island. I would like Irish citizenship, but it’s my GREAT grandmother’s husband (my Great Grand-Da) who most recently (in my family) who moved from Eire to the USA, SO…because nobody signed the “book of foreign births,” I just slightly don’t qualify for citizenship through family-lineage. The thought has occurred to me to go to court and admit that while I’m outside the *letter* of the law, my desire is congruent with the *spirit* of the law, and perhaps that might have some effect… (I’ll take advice if anybody has some …)

[@beaglaoich4418]

@@miahconnell23 Is the Irish descendant parent still alive? Because they could get it and then I think you could be naturalised that way?

[@xXevilsmilesXx]

The citizens of Northern Ireland would disagree with a few points you assert there

[@RedJadeArt]

@@xXevilsmilesXx which citizens tho xD Besides I’m not saying *I* view the north as an occupied territory; I’m saying that’s basically the political stance commonly held by most Irish Republican political parties pre-GFA. The GFA changed all that, and instead of banging on about reunification, people in the Republic of Ireland are much more interested in domestic issues like housing. Brexit did threaten to upset that apple cart, but thankfully it looks like the bits of it which would violate the GFA have largely been squashed.

[@MiloManning05]

@@xXevilsmilesXxyawn

[@mocrg]

If you want your child to be born in a free country because you love that country and don’t want to live in a dictatorship that’s one thing . If you just want to collect foreign citizenship I’m not very sympathetic.

[@Freshcornpop]

Or and this might not surprise you. Your just a racist. What's so bad about wanting your child to have the option of another citizenship. In what way does that affect you. She's wealthy was she collecting welfare, or skipping her taxes?

[@Thekidisalright]

Unless you are white, then it’s ok

[@GBOAC]

@@Freshcornpopplaying the race card isn’t helping the discussion either

[@shredderspencer1122]

What’s wrong with you? She just wanted to have another baby!

[@GBOAC]

@@shredderspencer1122and she was willing to exploit a legal loophole to be able to return to China with it. It’s not about her wish for a child, it’s about her choices for the legal process surrounding it.

[@ignus16]

really good video - thanks for sharing!

[@Cra7ySaMMy]

This is a very interesting video I never heard of anything like this before thank you for taking the time to teach us more information as always 😊

[@AchyutChaudhary]

It's always a good day when WonderWhy uploads a new video :)

[@samiam6051]

Dual Citizenship is kind of unfair when you think about it. It literally elevates some people above others who live in the same country by granting one person a whole other nations rights and presence to rely on. A lot of people in the UK have never set foot in Ireland but by virtue of a single deceased Grandparent can apply for it and suddenly gain all the benefits of EU citizenship. A right someone who is the same in every way but doesn't have a distant Irish relative cannot. If person A and B commit a crime and person A has dual citizenship they can just flee to their other country and have a much stronger chance of not being expatriated. But its also a case whereby the wealthy can super exploit it by simply living in the nations for the better benefits like education, healthcare or work depending on their current situations.

[@lukeueda-sarson6732]

A very one-sided view. You mention the benefits without failing to mention any of the downsides that accrue to having multiple - and often conflicting - citizenships (or nationalities; these often not being the same thing).

[@pila1280]

​@@lukeueda-sarson6732if there is any actual downside then those dual citizenship holders will have already revolved one of the citizenship immediately. In a nutshell, there maybe some downside ON PAPER, but nothing that they can't afford with the insurance and benefits that come with it.

[@Naistina345]

I think you bring up an interesting point without intending to about how countries define citizenship and the benefits it brings. This doesn't only happen in the UK&Ireland, though. The same rule applies to many European countries, for example Bulgaria. I remember working with a Ukranian lady (pre covid) whose grandparents were Bulgarian, and because of the same rules she was able to apply for bulgarian citizenship, giving her all the access to the EU. How the more wealthy members of society behave can be debated endlessly, with their offshore accounts, dual citizenship in Monaco (and similar countries) allowing them to escape taxes and more. Rather than focusing on the dual citizenship, I think it'd be better if we focus on how we can get those people to pay back into the countries that they use and abuse. To be clear I'm not commenting on cases where pregnant people run to countries to get the child a citizenship, I'm not finished with the video yet and I haven't thought about it deeply.

[@cuzcohusky3533]

Well technically you would simply just have to leave to any country that don’t have extradition 😂

[@austingin4300]

And many nations have clauses about national citizenship that prevent this & you have to pay most of the time to renounce citizenship.

[@LeechyKun]

Guess we solved the issue of her feeling entitled since she was very wealthy but didn't want to remain there. Anchor baby by trade in her mind. I mean hell, she even sued so it goes to show how entitled she felt by abusing the system that wasn't stressed to the test.

[@roberttbrockway]

These countries should look at Australian immigration law. Australia removed birthright citizenship in 1986 and has produce immigration law that does a good job of balancing the needs of the community with the needs of those born in Australia without citizenship. Eg, anyone born in Australia automatically becomes a citizen on their 10th birthday if they are not yet a citizen and have resided in the country for their entire life. There are other provisions that make the system balanced too.

[@dr.victorvs]

Meh, in Brazil we have birthright citizenship, we get a ton of birth tourists, we pay for all their healthcare costs, and we don't cry about it. It's good to add to our diversity, and we give a home to these people who are usually smart and hard-working.

[@rateeightx]

Residing in the country their entire life seems vague, If they go on holiday abroad for just a week or something, Would that then disqualify them from citizenship?

[@inari.28]

@@rateeightx No. You are only counted as a resident of another country if you enter a country intending to stay there for more than a year

[@peterfireflylund]

Many European Union member states do NOT automatically confer citizenship on children born there. In Denmark, they can apply for it when they turn 18. This is for the “racist” reason (according to the video) that many of these people are criminals (and otherwise undesirable) and we would like to be able to kick them out if they are. Such people often start their criminal career early and also often forget to apply for citizenship.

[@rateeightx]

@@inari.28 I see, That's pretty reasonable then, But I do ask how one defines "Intending to stay", You can't exactly read someone's mind, so how do you tell their intentions? Also that sounds like there could potentially be a loophole, It sounds like you could theoretically live elsewhere 11 months out of the year, But go back to Australia for one month every year and still have it count (Unless time spent away from the country needs to be made up for, So every month spent away from Australia you need to spend another month in Australia, Similar to how citizenship requirements work in Norway, If memory serves.)

[@altrag]

The whole concept of birthright citizenship is definitely more challenging when a significant portion of the population can get themselves to almost anywhere in the world within a few hours and with close to zero risk. Things were a lot different 200+ years ago when it took multiple months via dangerous routes to travel from one nation to the other - especially over the ocean. People moving about just didn't happen all that often and if they were in your country when they had a kid, it was much more difficult to justify putting them on a 3-month boat voyage with their newborn. I'm not saying its a bad thing by any means (I'd personally prefer if the world stopped being so nationalistic just in general - we're less likely to start murder campaigns like the one in Ukraine if we all consider ourselves to be one "in-group"). But there's definitely a good reason for it to be discussed now as its absolutely one of those concepts that modern technology has rendered fundamentally different compared to the situation when it was first conceived.

[@emeraldtier1750]

A large Borg of unrelated humans did not build the world we currently live in, nations did, families did, communities did. You need to feel some responsibility from and for the people around. Unrelated adults have to work at building that bond. We are being told to break bonds rather than forming them, and our western socities are falling apart because of it. China doesn't care, Saudis don't care, India doesn't care none of these non European based powers care about becoming one human race, and they will take what is left in ashes of our societies. Nationalism is what will save the few European nations and indigenous peoples from being colonised out by cultures who don't care about displacing indigenous populations.

[@gobbleguk]

@@emeraldtier1750 YEAR OF KEITH WOODS

[@scorpioneldar]

unfortunately in groups only work when they are exclusive. the larger the in group the less it matters to be a member of it. being a "living thing" means a lot less than being a "human" and being a human means a lot less on average than being a member of your country which is less meaningful than the city your from. and basically all "in Groups" pale in comparison to friends and family so long as your still accepted within those groups and accept those groups. people don't just become global citizens. they look for new identifiers and similarities to make a them and desegnate everyone else even within their citizen group as "other" this is basic human psychology. Ukraine is a perfect example actually. there is no culture more closely tied to the Russian one than the Ukrainian and Belarusian cultures. they were considered sibling cultures. this relationship is hundreds of years old. it still isn't strong enough to prevent one dictator form invading and slaughtering thousands of people. unsurprising given that even being an ethnic muscovite neverminded an ethic Russian is still too large a people group to inhibit violence.

[@jesualdocortez6426]

@@emeraldtier1750nah open borders are cool af. If countries want to remain backwards as we progress that’s on them.

[@altrag]

@@emeraldtier1750 "A large Borg of unrelated humans did not build the nation we live in, states did, families did, communities did." I suppose nations don't exist. Phew. Wonder why we keep killing each other over them then. > We are being told to break bonds rather than forming them Right. This is what I want to see changed. > our western socities are falling apart because of it Our western societies are the primary cause of it. Or rather, our ancestors' western societies are. Europe had the option to befriend the world and instead chose to call them all "savages" and enslave them. And much of the world is still suffering the after-effects of that period. Even today we're still doing the same old shit even if its not as overt. Western companies still exploit resources in developing nations. Western ideologies of democracy and capitalism are still forced onto developing nations, and even when its not forced militarily it gets enforced through Hollywood tropes and other cultural influences. Yes there's now China and they're ramping up to do a lot of the same shit, but they're new to the game - its western countries that have been turning the world to shit for 400+ years for their own profit, and now they're whining that the world has gone to shit. You reap what you sow. I have little sympathy. > care about becoming one human race Sure they do. What they don't care about is becoming one European race. Coming together doesn't wipe out either culture - it merges them into something new. And just like Hollywood can do as much to enforce US culture around the world when they don't want to send in the tanks, media from other nations is capable of doing the same. The cultural mixing is occurring no matter what - its just a question of how many people we murder trying to stop an unstoppable tide. If you don't believe me, look no further than anime. A mere 20 years ago it was difficult to find and expensive when you did. 30 years ago it was near impossible. Today its all over the place to the point that you almost can't avoid it even if you want to. > Nationalism is what will save the few European nations Save them from what? Can you name a single aspect of your life that you would change if say 100,000 Nigerians showed up in your town one day? What difference would that make to you (lets assume this was planned and that infrastructure was already in place to support the extra population - your concern here is culture so lets stay focused on that). Something other than "white skin". I won't accept racism as a good excuse for murder. PS: No I'm not saying that nationalism is only a problem in western nations. It may have started with western nations - mostly because the concept of "nations" didn't even exist in most places prior to the colonial era - but nationalism is certainly one of the things Europe managed to teach the "savages" around the world and that lesson sunk in deep.

[@angpai7768]

Not sure if it's appropriate to say this but I like your accent so much that I subscribed to your channel w/o finishing the video (which I did a few minutes later). Thank you for sharing the case, very insightful!

[@Worldwithoutboarders]

Excellent, informative without being sensational.

[@Pilgrim1st]

0:07 - Strange Union Jack

[@paulekstorm-hughes1894]

it's used through the whole video and it drove me insane

[@Pilgrim1st]

@@paulekstorm-hughes1894 It hurt me on a deep level. I think he went with one design, changed his mind, and then forgot about one of them.

[@pulverizedpeanuts]

It's a good month when WonderWhy uploads

[@firstchoice7761]

I enjoyed this post with an Irish bend to it. It was more interesting than the normal boring way news is usually given. Thanks, I'll be sure to watch your other posts.

[@dlenny3369]

Prior to 2004, citizenship laws entailed that any child born in Ireland was an Irish citizen, regardless of the nationality of the parent or their link to Ireland. Between 2002 and 2006, the population of Nigerian citizens in Ireland grew by 81.7%. The constitution was changed as the influx of non eu passport holders were abusing the system to get EU passports

[@bolu101]

Abuse? Everyone is out for themselves, those countries are now recruiting foreigners to build their economy. Would we say they're abusing third world countries?

[@GustavoVarela-ws1pi]

We have a new birthright citizenship country in europe Portugal

[@j.w.forest5581]

learned about this case in my EU law class. such a great video on contextualising the ruling

[@danielmckinney1305]

Likewise. If only there were more videos like this giving context to interesting cases.

[@WonderWhy]

@@danielmckinney1305 if you have any interesting cases in mind, let me know and I can take a look. Always happy to hear potential video ideas.

[@ShoahshanaGoldbergShekelstein]

There's nothing to learn. The baby is not Irish and not European.

[@danielmckinney1305]

I'll have a wee think and let you know!

[@oliverqueen5883]

And this baby is why I can’t get an Irish passport even though I’m born in Ireland and my dad is Irish (now, wasn't when I was born in 2005, the year the birthright citizenship ended) and I’ve lived a big chunk of my childhood in Ireland 😂😂

[@hannahk1306]

I feel like there's a happy middle ground somewhere that's being missed. If someone's grown up in a country that should surely entitle them to citizenship.

[@jmiskellybones745]

@@hannahk1306 well it does. The person above is either mistaken or had some other confounding factors they've not mentioned. Kids born in Ireland but not entitled to citizenship at birth can be naturalised if they've lived in Ireland for 3 years total and the last 12 months continuously. If your parent(s) naturalise first then the 12 months continuous residency thing is dropped. Naturalisation for an adult is live 5 out of the last 9 years in Ireland and 12 months continuously before the application. There are a lot of cases where it reduces down to 3 as well. We got rid of pure birthright citizenship, but nobody wanted to make it very hard to get for anyone actually living here.

[@alanwhite7127]

dont worry u aint missing anything

[@oliverqueen5883]

@@jmiskellybones745 I was entitled, but as a child I had no power: my parents had to take care of this for me and they just didn't, and now that I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions, it's too late as I no longer live in Ireland. So, the fact that they didn't fill some forms on my behalf is supposed to make me less Irish than if they did? Where's the logic in that?

[@oliverqueen5883]

@@alanwhite7127 lmao 😂😂 why you saying that?

[@theraseweeks9282]

Thank you so much for an interesting and informative video.

[@gregorde]

You’re flat wrong about anchor babies in the US by misunderstanding the law and practice. It’s incredibly difficult to deport a parent who has a minor US citizen child, and once an adult they can sponsor.

[@nicolashernandez8266]

The residency requirement is not eliminated for the parents of an argentine baby, the only change is that they can apply right away after the baby is born but it is a trial before a federal judge that takes 2 years at least and they have to be living in the country. If someone leaves right away the baby is born the residency requirement is not fullfill thus no citizenship

[@nathanz8208]

I was born in the Republic of Ireland in 2002, and hold Irish citizenship. It is the best birthday present my parents have ever given me

[@owenbreward4974]

I agree ... an Irish citizenship (like Italian) is one of the best in the world. But not the reason you probably claim. You see, your parents were probably Irish? And that's where they wasted the opportunity of a lifetime: giving you a much better life filled with a multitude of choices. Because, if your parents were Irish, no matter where in the world you were born, you would have still been Irish (as long as your birth is registered with the Irish consulate in the country you were born in). So instead of just having one passport, you would have also acquired the citizenship and passport where you were born. (I have Irish blood through my mother but I can't get Irish citizenship because my grandmother, nor my mother's birth were registered with the Irish consulate in India. As such, I've lost that opportunity, thanks to an oversight by my great grandparents.) I'm Canadian by birth & British by descent ... my wife is Brazilian by birth and Portuguese and Italian by descent. So right at birth my children, no matter where they are born, will have Canadian, Brazilian, Portuguese and Italian by descent. Wherever I choose for them to be born, they will have that citizenship. If I choose Northern Ireland, they will gain both British and Irish citizenship (I can't pass my British citizenship to them because I wasn't born there; but because I'm British, they will get Irish citizenship). So, potentially 6 citizenships total ... right at birth ... for all my children. Now that's what I call an opportunity that money simply can't buy! You see ... by giving your children so many citizenships, you am basically GIFTING them a multitude of opportunities to succeed in life ... a leg up as it were. And without being a part of the elite class to boot (a bonus in and of itself). Because, as we all know, none of us can predict what the future will hold for our own lives let alone that of an entire country. What if your citizen of one country, and only that country, and that country goes to hell in a hand basket. You have no choice but to stay and bear things out. (Think of Covid and lockdowns as one example of this.) But if Brazil is treating it's citizens better during a future pandemic, then, as citizens of Brazil, my children and their families can escape the tyranny of Ireland, UK, Canada or wherever they're living. And vice versa. If one country is taxing its citizens to death, simply move to one of the other 5 countries. If the business environment is better in one country, or there's better employment opportunities in another, they can go and work and live, visa-free, in one of the other countries. They are also entitled to student loans and study opportunities in multiple jurisdictions. And it's not just those 6 countries either. For example, Canadians can study in the USA visa-free (without a student visa and even work there part-time) -- citizens of every other country needs a visa to do that. Brazilians can work visa-free in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. Irish, Italian and Portuguese can work and live visa-free in other EU countries. On top of this, all countries have different visa requirements to enter. Some of the citizenships I'm "gifting" my kids will need visas to visit a particular country; but all they will need to do is change the passport they use to entire that country and BOOM ... they can enter visa-free. So even though I may not agree with the politics of the UK (Brexit) or Russia (invasion of Ukraine), if I can get those passports and use them to my advantage I'm going to do that (UK has visa-free travel to Brazil for 180 day stay vs. Canadians who need a visa even just to go there for a week ... or, China requires every citizen of EU, UK, Canada to have a visa to visit there but Russians can travel visa-free to China). The point is having a multitude of opportunities for your children. If you're Irish, make sure to at least have them born in another country. Better yet, if your Irish, marry someone who isn't Irish, so you kids will likely have at least 3 citizenships at birth (some countries don't have citizenship by descent so be sure that your future spouse's citizenship offers this if this is the only reason you're marrying -- however, I would suggest not to marry them JUST for this reason alone!). As you say, the best birthday present any parent can give their children is the citizenship they can give to them. But wouldn't it be so much better to be able to "gift" you children multiple citizenships, and, by extension, multiple opportunities so that the world would then indeed by their oyster!

[@nathanz8208]

i aint gonna read all that tbh but hell yeah!@@owenbreward4974

[@reilysmith5187]

@@owenbreward4974 mentally ill

[@JanBanJoovi-ol1qv]

😂 you speak as it being born Irish is like being brought to heaven.

[@getlost3346]

Are your ancestors Irish? If not you don't belong in Ireland nor are you irish.

[@irishcanuck9489]

My mother was born in Ireland, her family immigrated to Canada after ww2. My mother never took up Canadian citizenship until 2 years before her death (50 years later). She married my Canadian father. We (Canadiam born) are entitled to Irish citizenship through birthright of my mother. My brother applied for and got Irish citizenship which allows him to live and work in the EU. He had 4 children, each being born in Canada (returning to Canada for the birth), after each birth he applied for their Irish citizenship. They maintain dual citizenship. Mother is Canadian. I never applied for Irish citizenship, therefore my children can not apply unless I do.

[@chattyrat3354]

Your children can apply for Irish citizenship on the basis of having an Irish born grandmother. The process, however, is more complicated and requires additional paperwork. Any of your grandchildren that are born before either you or your own children take up Irish citizenship will have no entitlement to do so. Your brother got it right, placing his children on the Foreign Birth Register - less hassle, less paperwork, and his children can do likewise when they have children.

[@irishcanuck9489]

@chattyrat3354 thanks, my brother told me it's complicated!

[@billlohan5079]

Your kids can apply even if you don’t based on your mom being Irish born , they get on foreign birth registry first , then apply for passport. Only thing you need to do is supply child with your info that links them to grandparent

[@irishcanuck9489]

@@billlohan5079 ty my brother didn't explain it well. He said, I had to apply in order for my kids to get it. I have all info of my mother and grandparents. All born in Belfast.

[@billlohan5079]

Hello Irish Canuck , you are welcome department of foreign for Ireland website explains all this quite well. Don’t know how old you are. But if you put yourself foreign birth registry before you have kids. The right to acquire Irish citizenship passes onto your kids and that chain can continue indefinitely. Bad news is if your kids are born before you do so they are ineligible to apply. I have Irish parents and moved from USA to Ireland . I had instant right to work without needing visa and after about 9 months of residency I can vote, It’s a good thing to have especially since it opens up all EU countries as well and the Uk as the video said

[@markmckeown87]

Great video and great editing!

[@gchecosse]

There's a point that wasn't mentioned, which is that free movement in the EU applies to other countries, not to one's own. Ireland could have deported the mother, but the UK (or Estonia, Greece etc) couldn't.

[@okbutthenagain.9402]

The UK could have, and should have. Chen was Chinese. NOT a UK citizen and therefor isn't covered for any residency rights or nationality.

[@evilgenius919]

One of the weirdest parts of birthright citizenship is how stark the difference is between the Americas and every where else.

[@owenbreward4974]

Not really. Take for example Irish and Italian citizenship. I'm a Canadian and if my kids were born outside of Canada they would get Canadian citizenship by descent. However, that's where it would end. That is, if their kids were born outside of Canada, those kids would no longer be Canadians. However, Ireland and Italy are completely different. They have such a huge diaspora living abroad that, as long as each birth is registered at the Irish / Italian consulate they were born, they are considered to have been born on Irish / Italian soil and can pass their citizenship down through MULTIPLE generations, not just one or two. That is what makes both Irish and Italian citizenship the best in the world! (I, unfortunately, have neither.)

[@livinginthenow]

This is directly related to the history of colonialism in the Americas. Since less than 3% of people in the US are descended from indigenous ancestors, citizenship by descent would leave 97% of people in the US with the status of illegal aliens. The percentages are different throughout the Americas, but it boils down to the same thing.

[@peterjones5243]

​@livinginthenow The U.S. wasn't founded by the "indigenous" but by the descendants of British settlers. The Indians were only given citizenship much later.

[@livinginthenow]

@@peterjones5243 "Given" citizenship in a land where their ancestors lived for tens of thousands of years before Europeans set foot on the continent? Okay, colonizer. smdh...

[@peterjones5243]

@livinginthenow You're not given citizenship to land, but to political entities. The Indians belonged to various nomadic tribes (i.e., no permanent settlements or governments). They also would have been deeply offended by you lumping them into a single monolith. They fought genocidal wars with each other, obliterating entire tribes. Look at what the Iroquois did the the Great Lakes tribes. It turns out Europeans were simply better at war. The fact that there are still Indians today only proves that Europeans were more merciful to them them than they were to each other.

[@mothiurNCL]

00:49 Let's ensure the history is correct - the island of Ireland was completely one independent country.

[@basedelon]

When was that?

[@jeromevent4548]

It wasn't since the act of union in 1801, which is the date listed. And before that it wasn't independent either.

[@chriswharton]

Really well done.

[@aaronjones8905]

It's a bit ironic that the opposition to birthright citizenship is characterized as racist in the US, but it's seen as simple policy choice in Canada, Argentina, Ireland, and the greater EU.

[@MaxPower-11]

You can add Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, which eliminated unrestricted birthright citizenship in 1983, 1986 and 2006, respectively.

[@wecx2375]

That's because in U.S. The opposition to birthright citizen is targeted at Mexicans who cross the border.

[@a_kazakis]

Every country is racist to an extent, it's just that Americans tend to make a show of it, so it's harder to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[@thecoolcarhd4402]

Us the land of the free, While everywhere else doesn't have that title.

[@Nicole-kc1vx]

​@@a_kazakis ahhh, so racism is better if it's kept more discreet? I much prefer racism to be on full display rather than through nasty passive aggressive or discreet methods. Also, as a person from a European country filled with other European migrants, I can assure you their racism is not discreet by any means. Very funny considering the people I've experienced racism from are immigrants, and i'm not. Only difference is my skin colour differs from theirs, so they think they have more right to be in the country than I do, a person born and raised within the culture.

[@richtw]

Really enjoyed that, thank you!

[@andrewli6606]

This is the problem with many laws. Laws used to protect people can be exploited by people that don’t need those protections. Squatter’s rights are a similar issue.

[@victorross3174]

"Anchor Baby"

[@lordyhgm9266]

What I’m most surprised about is that far simpler solutions weren’t proposed. The UK already has Non-GB passports for overseas territories and has in the past granted very specific passports for residents of Hong Kong etc, so to introduce a new passport or Visa that grants right-to-remain until the child is 18 etc is a pleasant solution and allows for a mixed approach to citizenship that alleviates immigration concerns without endangering a child and it’s parents

[@hannahk1306]

That would probably cause other legal headaches (also you need citizenship *before* you can apply for a passport). I can't remember the name of the agreement, but it basically states that countries won't make people stateless (e.g. if British is your only citizenship, then you can't have it revoked). Although, they somehow got away with it in the Shamima Begum case... Anyway, by having a time limited citizenship there's a risk of people being made stateless at the end of it, e.g. if their home country doesn't allow dual citizenship. Also, I'm pretty sure after that length of time resident in the UK they would be eligible for proper British citizenship so they'd have an even stronger case than they originally did.

[@alt_zaq1_esc]

@@hannahk1306 I guess it is Article 8 of UN Convention on The Reduction of Statelessness

[@Ellie-rx3jt]

That solution screws the child over massively. You've been living in the UK for literally your entire life, you're a normal British kid with friends and support systems here, planning where you wanna go to university. Then you turn 18 and get deported to a country you've never even visited. Or you go through the stress of fighting for the right to remain, followed by citizenship.

[@owenbreward4974]

@@hannahk1306 This wouldn't be a problem in the UK though ... The "old" country wouldn't even know that their citizen, who cannot hold dual citizenship, has obtained British citizenship because the UK govt doesn't report that to foreign govts. If you're from a country that doesn't allow dual citizenship and you acquire UK citizenship it's on you to report that to you previous government ... the UK govt won't do it for you.

[@katiehusband1505]

​@hannahk1306 IIRC in the Begum case, she had a second birthright citizenship to Bangladesh (I think) whichever technically they could repeal her British one. Bangladesh dispute that she has citizenship though which is how it ended up in court earlier in the year

[@gchecosse]

Brilliant video. I knew about the case, but not that the mother was wealthy, or about the judge.

[@crypticTV]

how does that change anything tho??

[@gchecosse]

@@crypticTV it changes the perception that this was an impoverished immigrant fighting deportation, but you're right that it doesn't matter as far as the law is concerned.

[@DeepWater-rm8vo]

The notion of the baby having a difficult status in the UK because of EU citizenship doesn’t make sense since the freedom of movement between Ireland and the UK predates the EU agreements on it and is covered in separate legislation as part of the CTA (common travel area)

[@Arzada]

It was pretty common to see at the medical office I worked at, friends of expecting mothers showing up for the birth while also pregnant. It was a little funny because we both knew they couldn’t outright admit what they were doing, but it happened fairly regularly.

[@mjh5437]

Should have reported them.

[@rebootmyth8753]

There should be detail on exactly how the laws were changed in response to the loophole/exception arising from the case.

[@HaloJumper7]

Can confirm, my younger brother is pursuing his masters and got married and is working two jobs in Liverpool after making use of this loophole and he isn't taking any government subsidies for workers as to facilitate getting our mother to help take care of his daughter closely instead of flying out his daughter to a different country.

[@Oriana_leung]

Happened in HK many years ago. Pregnant China women arrives at checkpoint and gives birth to child in HK hospital, to obtain the HK ID. After that, either abandon the baby, or continue living with the 'man' (who have left the HK worman for China woman) in HK with the child. Shortages in milk powder, maternal beds in hospitals.

[@kierancarroll9524]

As an irish person who studies history I can say with resentment of the video that Ireland, as of the 'republic of Ireland' was never part of britain or the UK. The provinces of Munster & Connacht were always politically irish or part of Ireland. After the rebellion the province of Leinster had been secured both through action and politics. The province of Ulster was nearly all part of the republic but by this stage of the rebellion there was more english and scottish living in the north than irish this as well as entire towns and cities road ect newly built made progress to retake impossible. The peace treaty was then the only smart way forward as loses were way higher due to WW1 ''1914 to 1918''. The first irish rebellion against the UK dates back to 1798 and the one we should all know is the Easter Rising, also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The only country to never fully be colonised despite been right beside them.

[@MiloManning05]

Protestants in Ulster are descended from the Scottish

[@cygnusmir1627]

From what I know as another Irish lad while Munster and Connacht were definitely more culturally and politically Irish than the rest of the island they were still part of the UK, also there were a goood few rebellions before 1798

[@basedelon]

You might have heard of the Act Of Union, Mr. Historian "with resentment".

[@ibx2cat]

Absolutely wild that the EU citizenship was just a stepping stone to move to the US in the end. Great video on a really fun topic!

[@uvbe]

EU citizenship was not related to it at all, though. They only used it to circumvent chinese law

[@1rjona]

If that were the case, her mother could have chosen to give birth in US

[@nienke7713]

​@@1rjonathey moved to the US when Catherine (the baby featured in the main part of the story) was going to college, that's a significant time later. The EU was used as a way to allow her to have a second child (the UK was convenient due to her husband's business in the UK). Them moving to the US was a separate decision years later.

[@1rjona]

@@nienke7713 the baby was an Irish citizen because she was born in Ireland so she is already exempted from the China One child policy. The case was so the mother can legally stay in Europe

[@nienke7713]

@@1rjona to be exempt it was required that the baby had a different nationality AND that a parent had residency rights elsewhere, as soon as she got the residency rights, she moved back to china

[@Bram06]

Holy shit I really didn't see that nuclear bomb assassination thing coming

[@SirAntoniousBlock]

What has Putin done now? 😅

[@chissstardestroyer]

The Judge could've said that as the government agent didn't even bother to show up, the government is now warranted for arrest for contempt of court; and the baby, and the baby's mom, are now granted full citizenship *at their, not the government's* discretion, that'd have taught the home secretary to pay heed to all summons to court, whether he believes himself immune from prosecution or not, or he will be doing his work *from behind bars as a convict*, as well as his nation's government remains convicted and sentenced to death for their greater office.

[@boredutopia]

There was similar case in my country. Child had citizenship, but mother did not. During child's teen years mother wanted to get back to homeland, kid did not want, mother thought she can do what ever she wants coz kid is hers. Well kid knew their rights as a citizen who lived in a country for 16 years, knew the language and went to school and that age of 16 is only 2 years to be adult. And can take legal steps and a state will have to do everything to help their citizen. Long story short, mother literaly kidnapped her, was arrested in transit country, child was brought back to a country, mother was reported and forbidden to enter country for next 15 years. Kid was first teenager at the age of 16 who was legally prounounced adult and had 2 years of social service observation, lived in planned youth house with kids same age who were in transition from orphange to adult world... So this mother and any other parents who pull this bull%hit eventually can expect same outcome if they dont allow their kids to be who they want to be.. it is different if kid is born somewhere else and parents get back home, but if kid is born somewhere and spends their whole life there, start school, have friends etc that kid knows nothing else. That kid deserves to choose even when parents wishes or acts are different. I was 11 when I ended up as refugee in Iceland, 17 when my parents decided to go back home. 18 when I become legally adult, packed my bags and went back to Iceland, sign up for last year of high school there, went to university and got citizenship.. coz that is my home, my best years and people I cared for were there. Sadly I got back to homeland in early 30ties coz of family situation, but my plan was always to return to Iceland. Iceland is my home..

[@colezee7640]

This was a great comment, good for you

[@KSCPMark6742]

Very thought provoking, thank you

[@bluemym1nd]

The wait for your videos is always worthwhile!

[@crazyasalways9272]

I think the craziest thing is that fact that many people who grew up during the 1 child policy don't want kids and now they are trying to scramble

[@shadowfourgolf]

Your voice is so smooth i missed the conclusion of the case itself.

[@bocbinsgames6745]

The home secretary not bothering to show up is the most british thing lmao

[@rkalle66]

If loopholes are becoming a mass phenomenon then it will be an issue. You cannot have a cake and eat it, too. The Schengen and EU right of free movement will only go on if every country is not diplomatically embarassing the others. All UK tourists in EU can tell a story how it feels after Brexit waiting at airport custom on the alien line. But they forget that EU citizens do have the same issues getting to visit London.

[@owenbreward4974]

It should also be noted that Brits travelling to Ireland have more rights to live and work visa-free in this EU country than other EU citizens have because Ireland is not a part of the Schengen Area. However, when Brits are contemplating travelling to any other EU country, without lining up in the "alien line", is solution easy: either buy an EU passport (Malta is selling theirs for 1 million euros with only a 1 year residency requirement) or acquire a passport by descent. If neither option is open to you then a simpler third might be: get a residency permit in one of the 27 countries. A residency permit in one country of the EU entitles you to travel freely though all other Schengen countries without taking the "alien line". Problem solved.

[@moonbcw9107]

Catherine Zhu (the baby featured in this video) also graduated from military school in 2018. I found a yearbook from Howe Military School being posted at Issuu.

[@anitahaviland3036]

I truly enjoyed this film. I would like to see more! But, the cost of Nebula is beyond us. Have you considered offering Nebula to people over 80 for free? We have WWII memories.

[@zupergodo1]

En Uruguay ( uno de los pasaportes mas poderosos de Sudamérica ) también hay ciudadanía por nacimiento y muchas facilidades para conseguir la residencia

[@dr.victorvs]

The ability to use a passport to enter countries without requiring a visa is sought after mostly as a second citizenship, though. Most people would rather be citizens of a country that can enforce its will outside its border, so that it will protect them (e.g., evacuate after natural disasters or war). Best regards from Brazil! We should form a confederation some time. 🇧🇷🇺🇾

[@enzonavarro8550]

​@@dr.victorvsalmost got my like, but didn't because of the last bit. All respect for Uruguay from a brazilian 🇧🇷

[@lunarisita26]

En Uruguay y en sudamerica en general no tienen la carga migratoria desde áfrica que tienen los países de europa.

[@dr.victorvs]

@@enzonavarro8550 How is forming a confederation disrespectful? 😅 Most historical confederations have been looser even than the European Union. Mercosul is actually already halfway there.

[@durchfaII]

@@lunarisita26 Pero si recibimos posible criminales de paises de europa del este, por eso pasaportes como el de Republica Dominicana son debiles, por la migracion excesiva de Haitianos y criminales de otros paises, no harbran sorpresas cuando pasaportes de sudamerica pierdan poder por haitianos, europeos del este, y venezolanos. ojala nuestra tierra no sufra eso, pero hay una alta probabilidad 🇨🇱🙏🏻

[@Incidental104]

I have mixed feelings about birthright citizenship. On one hand, I believe that children born in a country, who grow up speaking the language and have no ties to any other place, shouldn't face deportation. However, birthright citizenship can be easily exploited by refugees, illegal migrants, and "birth tourists" who have no real connection to the country or its society. This can put a strain on taxpayers, and it's clear that some of these individuals have no genuine interest in the country they hold a passport from. In my opinion, the UK's approach seems reasonable, where children of permanent residents are granted citizenship while others aren't. This assumes that if your parents don't have permanent residency, they might either plan to leave one day or aren't culturally distant enough from their home country for you to be unable to adapt if you were to get deported. "It's also worth considering that the discourse on birthright citizenship, in my view, varies notably in the Americas and Australia. These regions have seen immigration play a pivotal role in shaping their societies, and there are fewer remaining native populations. In contrast, in most other parts of the world, the "native" population constitutes the majority. However, the conversation within the European Union is particularly sensitive due to the free access it offers to 27 countries. If one member nation allows it, it will affect 27 other sovereign nations as well both directly and indirectly.

[@thecoolcarhd4402]

always the "strain on taxpayers" excuse.

[@ErikPT]

I am a child born of this product; but my family remains in Texas. They never left America and this is our home. Hell most of my Ma's side left Michaocan and are in the west coast. If this is birth tourism means the parents wish to enter the country by legal means maybe it can rectified but, only if the parents wish to reside integrate and assimilate to the environment and not make a closed community of 'inclaves' that stoke tension with locals.

[@Incidental104]

@@thecoolcarhd4402 No need to cry a river I'm an immigrant too and my parents worked hard to get a citizenship for all of us. That won't fly with me. You are not entitled to a citizenship if your parents don't have permanent residency which in most countries takes 5 years or less. Maybe live and contribute for 5 years then feel entitled to a passport?

[@Incidental104]

@@ErikPT I'm an immigrant too and I definitely think if you want your kids to have citizenship you have to be permanently resided in the country at the very least. I takes 5 years to gain a permanent residency the EU, are people so entitled they don't even wanna work for 5 years and contibute to get a passport? and again as I siad I think the discourse is very different in the US then other places in the world.

[@lydia1634]

I'm a US citizen born in the UK to parents who were there on a student visa while my dad was getting a PhD. While I appreciate that some things are easier (I left at 16 months and have been a permanent resident of the US ever since), my document situation is really miserable. My UK birth certificate is essentially useless. My proof of citizenship is called a "consular report of birth abroad" and basically serves the same function as a birth certificate. But unlike a regular American birth certificate, notorized copies don't count. I have to use the exact certificate anytime I need to show documents (which is stupidly frequent). Getting a replacement is almost impossible, so I have this horrifying worry at the back of my head that if anything happened to this one piece of paper, my life would become a complete nightmare. So yes, while it makes sense to have the permanent citizenship law, it's still a nightmare for the kids involved.

[@oliv3rbr3adst1x8]

Technically what she could have done was bring 2 children from China and claim that she was escaping the one child policy. Then she would be able to apply for immigration status which would allow her to obtain a British citizenship. This would then allow her child to be a country's citizen.

[@xcdf7081]

In the US anchor baby can’t file petition for parents until 21 and likely needed good economic means as guarantor. Impractical.

[@stevenroshni1228]

It makes it less likely that they'll get deported because that would adversely impact the citizen child.