Why is it in many European countries, your citizenship is not based on being born in said country but by the citizenship of your parents?
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There’s two systems of citizenship – jus sanguinis and jus soli, meaning right of blood and right of soil. Right of blood means a person derives their citizenship from their blood, i.e. by relation to their parents. Right of soil means you get it by being born there.
Historically in the west, right of blood comes from Roman law and is thusly the law for Continental Europe, the former Holy Roman Empire, while right of soil comes from English common law. Right if blood is the predominant method around the world with right of soil being limited in Europe while mostly unrestricted in the Americas, a result of colonial policies to entice European immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries.
All that said, even in the US which is most generous in granting citizenship, there are restrictions. Residency of parents, marital status, gener of parent who is a citizen all come into the equation for right if blood. Other countries have restrictions on right of soil, requiring parents to be in the country legally on certain visa types and to specifically apply for their child’s citizenship, so it can get very complicated depending on ones situation.
Most countries, including the US, have complicated citizenship laws that are based on a combination of birthplace, descent, residency, and other factors. And most countries have one or more statuses that are essentially lesser forms of citizenship (e.g. things like “permanent residency”).
There seems to be a common belief in the US that US citizenship is based purely on birthplace, whereas in other countries it’s based purely on descent. I think this is one of those “American civil religion” things.
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