The Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago has signed a new law allowing people to gain citizenship if their parent or grandparent was a citizen by descent.

After hours of debate the Constitution (Amendment) (Citizenship) Bill, 2025, was passed in the Senate.

The final vote ended with 16 in favour, 13 against and one abstention.

These new changes will allow citizenship by descent through a grandparent who was a citizen at the time of the applicant’s birth.

The bill will also lift the restriction where citizenship by descent could only be acquired through a parent who was not a citizen by descent themselves.

According to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, previously, under Section 17(3) of the Constitution and Section 5 of the Citizenship Act, only second-generation descendants— children of citizens born abroad —were eligible for citizenship by descent.

The twin nations diaspora:

The newspaper gave the following example:

“If John was born in Trinidad, his son, Michael, was born abroad and became a citizen by descent. Michael then had a child, Sarah, born outside of Trinidad. Under the old law, Sarah could not be a citizen because her father’s citizenship was by descent. Under the new law, Sarah will now qualify for citizenship.”

The government hopes the new legislative change will help to strengthen ties & bonds with the diaspora with Trinidadian and Tobagonian heritage.

The new bill now awaits proclamation into law.

Source is The Voice, Britain’s only national black newspaper, aimed at those from the British African-Caribbean community.