Citizenship and Family Law

Abstract

Family law and citizenship (law) are rarely discussed together. Their interplay can be however as frequent as complex. Parental or spousal relationships sanctioned by family law are of ultimate importance for citizenship acquisition, with some of new societal developments – e.g. surrogacy – posing new challenges for legal actors. At the same time, an individual’s citizenship status and related immigration obstacles can have consequences for family law cases, such as cross-border child relocation or contact disputes. This entry discusses therefore the intersections of citizenship (law), family law, and other relevant legal fields such as immigration law or private international law. It also draws attention to the (current and potential) role of supranational citizenship(s), in particular EU citizenship, in this context. The ongoing national and international developments testify that a discussion on ‘citizenship and family law’ is far from being settled and further research on the topic is welcome.