Algerian nationality law

[6] Naturalization can be granted to persons who have resided in the territory for a sufficient period of time, seven years, to confirm they understand the customs and traditions of the society.

There was no provision concerning the issue in the 1963 Code, but a stipulation was added in 1970 that required renouncing other nationality for completion of the naturalization process.

[20] Under Ottoman rule, subjects owed allegiance to the sultan, who in exchange for their taxes provided protection for their lives, property, and rights, including the freedom to practice of their religion.

[27] In 1834 an ordinance to regulate the former Regency of Algiers granted a military governor general the power to rule by decree, subject to the Ministry of War's approval.

[29] French conquest of Algerian territory continued for more than a decade, consolidating and incorporating lands from the coastal regions to the interior.

This provision laid the groundwork for nationality legislation based upon whether the native inhabitants were able to be assimilated by adopting European standards.

[31] From 1848, those persons who settled in the colonies and were from France were considered nationals who had full rights and were subject to French law.

[32] This meant that from 1848 when the Civil Code was extended to all of the French citizens in the colonies, women were legally incapacitated and paternal authority was established over their children.

[36][37] Non-citizen nationals were governed by traditional laws concerning marriage and inheritance which placed the well-being of the community above individual rights.

[38] These laws prevented a wife from being treated as a slave, required her husband to support her, and entitled her kin to a bride price, to compensate them for the loss of her fertility to their kinship group and secure the legality of the union.

[39] This two-tiered subjecthood was further codified in the Sénatus-consulte of 14 July 1865, issued by Louis Napoleon which provided that Algerian Jews and Muslims were nationals but not citizens of France, as they were governed under Koranic or Mosaic law.

[46] On 24 October 1870, the Crémieux Decree collectively naturalized Algerian Jews, granting them full French citizenship.

[49] In an attempt to counter-act the increase in foreign-European immigration, the law automatically naturalized all foreigners born in Algeria when they reached the age of majority, unless they specifically chose not to be French.

Clarification in the 1897 decree included that bestowing nationality by birth in French territory only applied to children born in France, restoring descent requirements for the colonies.

[57] This was extended in 1919 to include the person naturalizing as well has his wife and minor children, but few took advantage of it, as it required giving up their right to be ruled under religious law.

[59] It also allowed children born in France to native-born French women married to foreigners to acquire their nationality from their mothers.

[63] It expressly applied to Algeria, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion and was extended to the Overseas Territories in 1953, but in the case of the latter had distinctions for the rights of those who were naturalized.

[74][75] That same year the Family Code was amended to allow women the ability to marry foreigners, divorce, or retain marital property.