If You're Born on a Plane, What's Your Nationality?



It sounds like something that might come up in one of those conversation-starting party games: If a baby is born on an airplane, where would that baby’s citizenship be located? Would it be the country they’re flying over, the country where they took off, the destination country, or somewhere else entirely? The citizenship of babies born midair depends on several factors. Many countries, including the United States, grant citizenship to anyone born in their territorial airspace or waters. Other countries specify that the baby’s citizenship depends on its parents’ citizenship. What if a baby is born over the ocean where territorial rights aren’t in play? In that case, it would fall to the nationality of the airplane itself. All aircraft have the nationality of the country in which they are registered, no matter where takeoff or landing happens.