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In depth
Paternal filiation is the legal principle that citizenship is transmitted primarily through the father. It is common in Middle Eastern and North African citizenship law, including in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia (with recent reforms), Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Under paternal filiation, children of citizen fathers are citizens regardless of where they are born. Children of citizen mothers and foreign fathers are typically not citizens (or require special naturalization), though reforms in some countries (Morocco 2007, Tunisia 2010, Egypt 2004) have extended maternal-line transmission.
For CBD cases in paternal filiation countries, the ancestor must be male (a father or paternal grandfather) for the citizenship chain to be intact. Maternal-line claims are possible in some countries but require case-specific analysis.
Related terms
Jus sanguinis (Latin for 'right of blood') is the principle that grants citizenship based on the citizenship of one's parents or ancestors, regardless of where one is born.
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is the South African government department that processes citizenship applications.
A High Commission is the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth country in another, equivalent to an embassy; it processes CBD applications for Commonwealth citizens.
The Ministry of Interior is the government ministry in many African and Middle Eastern countries that processes citizenship applications.
An adoul (or adil) is a Moroccan religious notary who records civil events (births, marriages) under Islamic law, and whose records are used in Moroccan CBD cases.
A tazkira is the Afghan national identity document, which serves as proof of Afghan citizenship.