Chapter II. Nationality and Citizenship
Article 10
Chileans are:
- Those born within the territory of Chile;
- The children of a Chilean mother or father born within a foreign territory;
- Foreigners that obtain a nationalization card according to the law, and
- Those who obtain a special grant of nationalization by law.
The law will regulate the procedures for renouncing Chilean citizenship, of opting for Chilean citizenship, of grant, denial and cancelation of cards of nationalization, and the formation of a registry of all of these acts.
Article 11
Chilean nationality is lost:
- Through voluntary renunciation before a competent Chilean authority. This renunciation will only take effect if the person has nationalized within another country prior to renunciation;
- By supreme decree in the case of aiding an enemy of Chile or its allies during war;
- Due to cancelation of a card of nationalization, and
- Through a law that revokes amnesty
Those who lose Chilean nationality for any of the causes established in this article will only be able to regain Chilean nationality through law. A person that would become stateless due to loss of nationality cannot lose Chilean nationality.
Article 12
Any persons affected by an administrative act or resolution that deprives them of their Chilean nationality can appeal, for themselves or for any other person of their name, within the period of thirty days to the Supreme Court, which will convene the full tribunal. The intervention of the Supreme Court will suspend the effects of the act or resolution appealed.
Article 13
Chileans who have reached the age of 18 are citizens.
Citizenship confers the rights of suffrage, to run for office in elected office, as well as the other rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws.
Citizens with the right to suffrage that are outside of the country may vote from abroad according to the laws in force.
Article 14
Foreigners that have resided in Chile for longer than five years and who have complied with the requirements outlined in the first indent of article 13 may exercise the right to vote in cases and forms as determined by the law.
Those who have nationalized according to numbers 3 or 4 of article 10 will only have the option to run for elected office after they have had their nationalization card for over five years.
Article 15
In popular elections, suffrage will be personal, equal, secret, informed and voluntary, with the exception of a plebiscite as outlined in article 133 of this document.
A popular election can only be convened for the elections outlined within the Constitution, for plebiscites contemplated by the Constitution, or according to an organic constitutional law, subject to the approval of the Constitutional Tribunal.
In popular elections to choose members of elected bodies, a procedure to convert votes into positions will be applied to produce a proportional representation between the percentage of votes and the percentage of positions obtained by the list of candidates. The law will establish the forms of candidacy and the procedure to calculate the distribution of positions as well as the necessary corrections to represent each of the candidate lists.
Article 16
The right of suffrage is only suspended by interdiction in the case of dementia of due to a judicial condemnation established by an organic constitutional law.
Article 17
Citizenship is only lost through the loss of Chilean nationality.
Article 18
There will be a public electoral system. An organic constitutional law will determine the organization and functioning of the system and regulate the form in which electoral processes and plebiscites will be realized in all cases not foreseen by the Constitution; it will always guarantee the strengthening of political parties as well as the participation of independents within those processes. This law will also establish a system of financing, transparency, as well as limits and controls on electoral spending.
An organic constitutional law will also include an electoral registration system under the direction of the Electoral Service to which those that meet the requirements established by this Constitution will be incorporated by the ministry created by the organic constitutional law.
The protection of public order during elections and plebiscites will be the responsibility of the Armed Forces and the Carabineros (a military police force) as indicated by the law.
