Birth tourism is the practice of traveling to another country or city for the purpose of giving birth in that country. The main reason for birth tourism is to obtain citizenship for the child in a country with birthright citizenship (jus soli). Such a child is sometimes called an "anchor baby" if their citizenship is intended to help their parents obtain permanent residency in the country. Other reasons for birth tourism other than future sponsorship for the parents include the ability to enroll the child in the host country's public schooling system, access to better healthcare for the birth parent or child, and to hedge against corruption and political instability in the parents’ home country. Popular destinations include the United States and Canada. Another target for birth tourism is Hong Kong, where some mainland Chinese residents travel to give birth to gain right of abode for their children.
In an effort to discourage birth tourism, Ireland restricted citizenship by birth to those where at least one parent is a citizen of the country, by passing the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland in 2004. On the other hand, Germany traditionally only used jus sanguinis, but has introduced a conditional citizenship by birth in 2000.
Since 2004, no European country grants unconditional birthright citizenship (as of 2006); however, most countries in the Americas, e.g., the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil do so. In Africa, Chad, Lesotho and Tanzania grant unconditional birthright citizenship, as do some in the Asian-Pacific region including Fiji, Pakistan, and Tuvalu.
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North America
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified after the Civil War to ensure that the freed slaves along with their children would get American citizenship, guarantees U.S. citizenship to those born in the United States, provided the person is "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. Congress has further extended birthright citizenship to all inhabited U.S. territories except American Samoa. (A person born in American Samoa becomes a non-citizen US national). The parent(s) and child are still subject to de jure and de facto deportation, respectively. However, once they reach 21 years of age, American-born children, as birthright citizens, are able to sponsor their foreign families' U.S. citizenship and residency.
Russian birth tourism to Florida to "maternity hotels" in the 2010s is documented. Birth tourism packages complete with lodging and medical care delivered in Russian begin at $20,000, and go as high as $84,700 for an apartment in Miami's Trump Tower II complete with a "gold-tiled bathtub and chauffeured Cadillac Escalade."
One option for mainland Chinese mothers to give birth is Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, where the cost is cheaper and travel does not require a U.S. visa. More than 70% of the newborns in Saipan have birth tourist PRC parents who take advantage of the 45-day visa-free visitation rules of the territory and the Covenant of the Northern Mariana Islands to ensure that their children can have American citizenship. There were 282 of these births in 2012. At least one airline in Hong Kong requests that women who are "observed to have a body size or shape resembling a pregnant woman" submit to a pregnancy test before they are allowed to fly to Saipan.
As of 2015, Los Angeles is considered a center of the maternity tourism industry, which caters mostly to women from China and Taiwan; authorities in the city there closed 14 maternity tourism "hotels" in 2013. The industry is difficult to close down since it is not illegal for a pregnant woman to travel to the U.S. On March 3, 2015, Federal agents in Los Angeles conducted a series of raids on three "multimillion-dollar birth-tourism businesses" expected to produce the "biggest federal criminal case ever against the booming 'anchor baby' industry", according to The Wall Street Journal.
Numerous "maternity businesses" advise pregnant mothers to hide their pregnancies from officials and commit visa fraud—lying to customs agents about their true purpose in the U.S. Once they give birth, several 'birth tourism' agencies aid the mothers in defrauding the U.S. hospital, taking advantage of discounts reserved for impoverished American mothers. Some mothers will refuse to pay the bill for the medical care received during their hospital stay.
South America
Most South American countries grant unconditional birthright citizenship and allow dual citizenship; however, some countries have strict abortion laws that make them risky birth-tourism destinations in case of complications during the pregnancy. In Brazil, abortion is illegal, with the exception of cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger. It is restricted to cases of maternal life, mental health, health, rape, or fetal defects. In Chile, abortion was forbidden completely, even if the pregnant woman's life was in danger, until 2017. Current law allows abortion in Chile only if the mother's life is in danger, if the fetus is not viable and in rape cases.
Some countries do not allow their citizens to renounce their citizenship, or only do so if the citizenship was acquired by birth there to non-citizen parents. In Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay, voting is compulsory for citizens. In Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Venezuela, military service is mandatory.
Any person born in Argentine territory acquires Argentine citizenship at birth, excepting children of persons in the service of a foreign government (e.g. foreign diplomats). This can be also applied to people born in the Falkland Islands, a disputed territory between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Argentine citizens cannot renounce their Argentine citizenship.
A person born in Brazil acquires Brazilian citizenship at birth, regardless of their parents' ancestry. It is said Brazilian citizens cannot renounce their Brazilian citizenship, but it is possible to renounce it through a requirement made in the Brazilian consulate if they already have acquired another citizenship voluntarily. Foreign tourists, parents of a Brazilian child, may apply for permanent residency in Brazil based on their child's nationality.
As of 2023, all children born in Chile acquire Chilean citizenship at birth, the only exception being children born of people working for foreign diplomatic missions. Chilean Supreme Court ruled that children of irregular immigrants are not to be considered "Transient foreigners" and therefore receive Chilean citizenship as well.
Any person born in Paraguay territory acquires Paraguayan citizenship at birth. The only exception applies to children of persons in the service of a foreign government (like foreign diplomats).
Hong Kong
As a non-sovereign territory, Hong Kong does not have its own citizenship; the status akin to citizenship in Hong Kong is the right of abode, also known as permanent residence.
According to the Basic Law of Hong Kong, Chinese citizens born in Hong Kong have the right of abode in the territory. The 2001 court case Director of Immigration v. Chong Fung Yuen affirmed that this right extends to the children of mainland Chinese parents who themselves are not residents of Hong Kong. As a result, there has been an influx of mainland mothers giving birth in Hong Kong in order to obtain right of abode for the child. In 2009, 36% of babies born in Hong Kong were born to parents originating from Mainland China. This has resulted in backlash from some circles in Hong Kong to increased potential stress on the territory's social welfare net and education system. Attempts to restrict benefits from such births have been struck down by the territory's courts. A portion of the Hong Kong population has reacted negatively to the phenomenon, which has exacerbated social and cultural tensions between Hong Kong and mainland China. The situation came to a boiling point in early 2012, with Hong Kongers taking to the street to protest the influx of birth tourism from mainland China.