TITLE III. On the Population and the Territory
Chapter I. On Nationality
Article 96
The following are Colombian nationals:
- By birth:
- Colombian natives, upon one of two conditions: that the father or the mother have been Colombian natives or nationals or that, being children of aliens, either parent was domiciled in the Republic at the time of birth; and,
- The children of a Colombian father or mother born abroad who have later established their domicile in the Colombian territory or registered in a consular office of the Republic.
- By adoption:
- Aliens who solicit and obtain a naturalization card, in accordance with the applicable statute, which shall establish the cases in which Colombian nationality is lost through adoption;
- People born in Latin America or the Caribbean who are domiciled in Colombia and who, with the government’s authorization and in accordance with the relevant statute and the principle of reciprocity, request that they be registered as Colombians in the municipality where they reside; and,
- Members of the indigenous peoples straddling border areas, in application of the principle of reciprocity according to public international treaties.
No Colombian by birth may be stripped of his/her nationality. Colombian nationality is not lost by virtue of acquiring another nationality. Nationals by adoption shall not be obligated to renounce their nationality of origin or adoption.
Whoever has renounced his/her Colombian nationality may recover it in accordance with the applicable statute.
Article 97
Even a Colombian who has renounced his/her nationality shall be tried and sentenced as a traitor if he/she acts in opposition to the country’s interests when Colombia is involved in a foreign war.
Colombian nationals by adoption and aliens domiciled in Colombia cannot be obligated to take up arms against their country of origin; neither may Colombians who have been naturalized abroad take up arms against the country of their new nationality.
Chapter II. On Citizenship
Article 98
Citizenship is effectively lost by the renunciation of nationality, and its exercise may be suspended by virtue of a judicial decision in the cases determined by statute.
Those whose citizenship has been suspended may request its restoration.
Paragraph
Unless an Act fixes another age, the exercise of citizenship starts at the age of 18.
Article 99
To be a citizen and to exercise this citizenship is a prior and indispensable condition for the exercise of the right to vote, to be elected, and to hold public office involving authority or jurisdiction.
Chapter III. On Aliens
Article 100
Aliens in Colombia shall enjoy the same civil rights as Colombian citizens. Nevertheless, for reasons of public order, an Act may impose special conditions on or nullify the exercise of specific civil rights by aliens.
Similarly, aliens shall enjoy, in the territory of the Republic, guarantees granted to citizens, except for the limitations established by the Constitution or statute.
Political rights are reserved to citizens, but an Act may grant to aliens resident in Colombia the right to vote in elections and in popular consultations at the municipal or district level.
Chapter IV. On Territory
Article 101
The borders of Colombia are those established in international treaties approved by Congress, duly ratified by the President of the Republic, and those defined by arbitration awards in which Colombia takes part.
The borders identified in the form provided for by this Constitution may be modified only by treaties approved by Congress and duly ratified by the President of the Republic.
Besides the continental territory, the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, Santa Catalina, and Malpelo are part of Colombia in addition to the islands, islets, keys, headlands, and sand banks that belong to it.
Also part of Colombia is the subsoil, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone, the airspace, the segment of the geostationary orbit, the electromagnetic spectrum and the space where it applies, in accordance with international law or the laws of Colombia in the absence of international regulations.
Article 102
The territory, together with the public resources that are part of it, belong to the nation.
