Trinidad and Tobago citizenship now accessible via grandparents

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025, otherwise referred to as the Grandparents Citizenship Law, was passed in the House of Representatives on September 12, despite criticism from the Opposition. The bill passed with 27 votes in favour, ten votes against and no abstentions.

The bill amends Section 17 (3) of the Constitution which says a child born outside of TT acquires citizenship by descent if, at the time of birth, at least one parent is, or was (but for death), a citizen of TT “otherwise than by descent”.

Clause 4(a) of the amendment deletes the words “his parents is, or was, but for his parent’s death” and substitutes the words “his parents or grandparents is, or was, but for his parent’s or grandparent’s death”.

Clause 4(b) deletes the words “otherwise than” and substitutes the word “including”; and Clause 4(c) deletes the words “otherwise than by descent” and substitutes the words “including by descent”. A fifth amendment, which was submitted by the government during the debate, amends the TT Citizenship Act, allowing grandparents and parents to apply for citizenship for a child up to their majority and the child to apply for citizenship at any time.

The bill was piloted in the House of Representatives on September 12 by Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Phillip Watts who said the TT Football Association identified 40 athletes who were willing to play for TT if they were granted citizenship. He said the move also aligns with the national sport policy of TT.

“The first phase is a precise rapid response to an immediate challenge. It grants citizenship to high-performance, foreign-born athletes with TT grandparents. It directly addresses the TTFA’s call to strengthen the football team and all disciplines, increasing our talent pool.

“The second phase is guided by responsible government action. We know the benefits will reach well beyond sports, boosting our economy, diversifying our workforce and enriching our culture. That’s why, after careful review, we will extend third-generation citizenship to other eligible foreign-born individuals to bring invaluable skills, investment or expertise to our nation.”

He said TT has suffered some of the highest brain-drain rates in the Caribbean and lost out on billions in remittances.

Watts said concerns about sidelining local athletes were unfounded as the government was committed to training athletes and grassroots investments would not be neglected.

Imbert: Is voter padding the motive?

Diego Martin Northeast MP Colm Imbert raised concerns about the widening of the eligibility criteria for citizenship, as he said removing “otherwise than by descent” and saying “including by descent” meant that parents and grandparents of applicants could also be citizens by descent, rather than having been born in TT. He asked whether the changes were being made for nefarious purposes or to allow for voter padding.

“You have created a situation where there can be endless layers of accessibility. You remove the limitation that if the applicant was born outside TT, they must have a parent or grandparent who was born in TT. The government has not explained why they are removing the connection by blood to the country.

“TT’s passport is a powerful one. Is this being done to allow someone from outside the country to get a passport? I don’t see how it will help athletes as FIFA and the International Athletics Federation have specific rules which say athletes’ parents or grandparents have to have been born in the countries they are representing.”

Attorney General John Jeremie, during the committee stage, said the word “including” was being used in the common meaning of the word and was not intended to give free-for-all access.

Justice Minister Devesh Maharaj said the amendment was a simple one and Imbert was trying to impute fears into a simple process.

PM: Applicants will be vetted

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar rubbished Imbert’s claims about nefarious usages and voter padding.

“There is an application process. People will not just automatically qualify for this. There will be a process and a vetting, so it’s not just every and anyone who will land and be given this, that vetting process will be seriously adhered to.”

“It extends citizenship to our grandchildren abroad but do so only with strict safeguards: verified lineage, proper documentation and proof that the grandparent(s) was a citizen at time of birth. This process will be supported by digitised records, fraud detection and consular procedures and electoral registration will remain tightly protected. Should someone slip through the cracks, we will ensure anything that was done and should not have been done is rectified."

Persad-Bissessar said this was a landmark reform and a final legacy of the government’s tenure on this side of the House. She said the diaspora was approximately 350,000 people, a quarter of the domestic population of 1.4 million, meaning for every four citizens living in TT, one is living abroad. She said statistically that is among the highest diaspora to population ratios in the Caribbean, rivalled only by Jamaica and Guyana.

Persad-Bissessar said the bill was not copying similar ones in Jamaica, St Lucia, Israel, Ireland and other countries but took TT’s population size, limited resources and sensitivities for electoral balance into account.

“The benefits are clear: we will strengthen our ties with the diaspora, attract skills, innovation and investment, create new opportunities in sport, culture, and business, grow remittances and heritage tourism, and above all, we will ensure fairness by recognising that becoming a citizen does not end after one generation abroad.”

Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles said TT had done well with sports in the past

“We focus on us being at a disadvantage because of other nations now using the rule where once you have a grandparent being born here then you can apply to play for TT. Let us also be aware of the message we’re sending to our local footballers and athletes. While there may be 40 players waiting for the bill to be passed it is equally important for us to say to our locally trained players and those who were born here that that commitment to football is equally important.”

She said football was about synergy and training together.

“We need to understand that a lot of the players who will offer themselves to TT, it is because they cannot make the team where they presently live and the teams for the countries where they were born.”