Palau

Last Updated: 2026-04-02

Official Portal: Republic of Palau Government

Embassy Finder: Palau Embassy, Washington D.C.

Quick Facts

Category	Details
Residency for naturalization	Not available through standard naturalization; citizenship is primarily descent-based
Language requirement	Palauan and English are both official languages
Civics test	No formal civics test
Processing time	Variable; handled on a case-by-case basis
Naturalization fee	Not formally established for general applicants
Dual citizenship	Not permitted; the Constitution explicitly prohibits dual nationality
Citizenship by birth in Palau	Yes, if the person is of Palauan ancestry or born to a citizen parent
Citizenship by descent	Primary basis for Palauan citizenship; Palauan parentage required
Governing law	Constitution of the Republic of Palau (1981), Article III; Palau National Code, Title 1

Dual Citizenship

Palau does not permit dual citizenship. The Constitution contains one of the most explicit prohibitions on dual nationality in the Pacific region.

Key provisions:

Article III, Section 3 of the Palau Constitution states: “A citizen of Palau who becomes a citizen of another country shall automatically forfeit his Palauan citizenship.”
This prohibition applies to all Palauan citizens, including those by birth and descent.
There is no exception for any nationality, including U.S. citizenship.
Proposals to amend the Constitution to allow dual citizenship have been put to referendum multiple times (1998, 2004, 2008, 2020) and have consistently failed to achieve the required supermajority, though margins have narrowed over time.

Compact of Free Association (COFA): Palau has a Compact of Free Association with the United States, effective since 1994. Under the COFA, Palauan citizens may enter, reside, and work in the United States without a visa. As with the Marshall Islands and FSM, this provides many of the practical benefits of dual nationality without the legal status. Palauans who naturalize as U.S. citizens forfeit their Palauan citizenship. The Compact was renewed and amended in 2023, extending U.S. economic assistance and maintaining the immigration provisions indefinitely.

Diaspora impact: A significant portion of Palau’s population of approximately 18,000 has relatives in the United States, Guam, and Hawaii. The inability to hold dual citizenship forces a choice between maintaining Palauan legal identity and accessing the full benefits of U.S. citizenship.

Acquisition of Nationality

By Birth

A person born in Palau acquires citizenship at birth if the person is of Palauan ancestry or at least one parent is a citizen of Palau.

Key notes:

There is no unconditional jus soli. Birth on Palauan territory to non-Palauan parents does not confer citizenship.
The concept of Palauan ancestry is tied to the traditional clan system and matrilineal kinship structures.
Children of mixed parentage (one Palauan parent, one foreign parent) acquire Palauan citizenship but may face the dual-citizenship prohibition if the foreign parent’s country also confers citizenship at birth.

By Descent

Citizenship by descent is the primary mechanism for acquiring Palauan nationality. A person born outside Palau to at least one Palauan parent acquires citizenship.

Conditions:

At least one parent must be a Palauan citizen at the time of the child’s birth.
The birth must be registered with Palauan authorities.
Palauan culture emphasizes matrilineal descent, but citizenship law recognizes both paternal and maternal lines.

By Adoption

A child adopted by Palauan citizens may acquire citizenship, provided:

The adoption is legally recognized under Palauan law.
The child is a minor at the time of adoption.
Customary adoption is prevalent in Palauan society and may be recognized for citizenship purposes if validated through the courts.

By Marriage

Marriage to a Palauan citizen does not automatically confer citizenship. Foreign spouses have extremely limited pathways to Palauan citizenship. The Constitution and Code do not provide a standard spousal naturalization route.

In practice, foreign spouses may obtain residency permits but remain non-citizens. This has been a source of significant domestic political debate, particularly regarding the rights of foreign spouses (often from the Philippines or other Asian countries) and their children.

By Naturalization

Palau has no general naturalization pathway comparable to most other nations. Citizenship is fundamentally descent-based.

Requirement	Details
Eligibility	Extremely limited; no standard naturalization pathway exists
Legislative action	Special grants of citizenship require an act of the Olbiil Era Kelulau (National Congress)
Descent requirement	Virtually all citizens acquire citizenship through Palauan parentage
Dual citizenship	Prohibited; any prior citizenship must be renounced

Critical note: Palau is one of the most restrictive countries in the world for naturalization. There is no standard administrative process for granting citizenship to foreign nationals who are not of Palauan descent. Exceptional grants require legislative action, which is extremely rare.

Loss and Renunciation

Automatic Loss

A Palauan citizen who acquires citizenship of another country automatically forfeits Palauan citizenship. This is immediate and operates by constitutional mandate. There is no grace period, retention permit, or exception.

Voluntary Renunciation

A citizen may renounce Palauan citizenship, provided:

The person holds or has been assured citizenship of another country.
The person will not be rendered stateless.

Deprivation

Citizenship obtained through special legislative grants may be revoked if:

It was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation.
The person has committed acts of treason or serious crimes against the Republic.

Citizens by birth or descent are protected from arbitrary deprivation by the Constitution.

Restoration of Nationality

There is no formal statutory mechanism for automatic restoration of Palauan citizenship. Former citizens who forfeited citizenship by acquiring another nationality face an extremely difficult path:

They must first renounce the foreign citizenship.
They must then seek a special act of the Olbiil Era Kelulau (National Congress) to regain citizenship.
There is no guarantee of success, and the process is legislative rather than administrative.

The repeated failure of dual-citizenship referendums means that former citizens who naturalized elsewhere remain unable to reclaim Palauan citizenship while maintaining their adopted nationality.

Stateless Persons and Foundlings

A child found in Palau whose parents are unknown is presumed to be a citizen of Palau.
The Constitution provides basic safeguards against statelessness for children born on Palauan territory.
Palau is not a party to the 1954 or 1961 UN Conventions on statelessness.
The dual-citizenship prohibition creates a theoretical statelessness risk for Palauans whose foreign country of naturalization later revokes or denies their citizenship, though this scenario is rare in practice.

Document Checklist

Proof of Palauan ancestry or parentage (birth certificate, clan documentation)

Valid passport (current and previous)

Birth certificate (with certified English translation if necessary)

Evidence of Palauan parentage (parents’ birth certificates, citizenship records)

Police clearance certificate (if applying for any citizenship-related service)

Two passport-sized photographs

Declaration renouncing all other citizenships (if applicable)

Marriage certificate (if applicable)

Court-recognized adoption order (if applicable)

Payment of any prescribed fees

Sources

Constitution of the Republic of Palau (1981) — Article III (Citizenship). https://www.palaugov.pw/
Palau National Code, Title 1 — Statutory provisions on citizenship and nationality. http://www.paclii.org/pw/legis/
Compact of Free Association (as amended 2023) — U.S.-Palau bilateral agreement. https://www.state.gov/
Palau Embassy, Washington D.C. — Consular services and citizenship information. https://www.palauembassy.org/
Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute (PacLII) — Repository of Palauan legislation. http://www.paclii.org/pw/

Palau.pw

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