Natural-born citizen
In general, a natural-born citizen of a country is someone who is legally recognized as that country's citizen at the moment of birth rather than by acquiring citizenship afterwards through naturalization.
In the United States, a person is born a citizen due to either place of birth within US territory (jus soli) or through descent from a US citizen (jus sanguinis). This term is used in particular as a requirement for becoming President or Vice-President of the United States. Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that:
- No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Martin Van Buren was actually the first natural-born citizen to become President. Prior Presidents had been born British subjects but were eligible as citizens "at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution".
of the U.S. Code states the following persons are considered "citizens at birth" and therefore eligible to run for President or Vice-President:
- Anyone born in the United States.
- Any Native American or Native Alaskan born in the United States (provided that U.S. citizenship does not affect the person's status as a tribal citizen).
- Anyone born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents, as long as at least one lived in the United States before the person was born.
- Anyone born outside the United States if one parent is a U.S. citizen who lived in the U.S. for at least a year, and the other is a U.S. national.
- Anyone born in a U.S. possession if at least one parent is a U.S. citizen who lived in the U.S. for at least a year.
- Anyone found in the U.S. before the age of five whose parentage is unknown, as long as proof of foreign birth is not shown by age 21.
- Anyone born outside the United States to an alien parent and a citizen parent who lived in the United States for at least five years (military and diplomatic service or dependency to be included in this requirement).
- Anyone born before May 23, 1934 to an alien father and a citizen mother who lived in the United States for any period.
