By birth

Birthright nationality applies to:

• Persons born anywhere to a parent who is a national of Solomon Islands.^[5]

By naturalisation

Regular naturalisation in Solomon Islands is acquired by submitting an application to the commission responsible for the administration of immigration.^[8] Applicants must provide evidence that they are of good character; have familiarity with Solomon Islander civics, language and customs; intend to live in the Solomon Islands, and have resided within the territory for a cumulative period of five years over the last ten years.^[9] Persons who may attain nationality by naturalisation include:

• The spouse of a native-born Solomon Islander, provided they have been married for five years;^[9]
• Persons who have at least one grandparent, or great-grandparent who was a native-born Solomon Islander; or^[9]
• Adoptees, upon completion of an adoption order.^[10]

Spanish period (1568–1893)

In February 1568, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira landed on Santa Ysabel Island and built a small settlement.^[14][15] Exploring the coast, they sighted or landed on Choiseul, the Florida Islands, Guadalcanal, Malaita, San Cristobal, the New Georgia Islands, the Olu Malau Islands, Savo, Ugi, and Ulawa, naming the chain the Islas Salomon (Solomon Islands).^[16][15] In the fall, Mendaña returned to the Americas with the plan to return and settle in the Solomons.^[17][15] He was unable to return until 1595, when he landed on the Santa Cruz Islands.^[15] By the end of the year, Mendaña died and the remaining settlers left for the Philippines.^[18] Spain neglected its claim on the Solomon Islands and contact did not recur until 1767, when a British naval officer, Philip Carteret anchored off the coast of Nendö Island, recognizing it as Mendaña's Santa Cruz.^[19][20] He also sighted Utupua and Vanikoro.^[19]

From the 1830s, contact between the islanders and Europeans increased with expansion of the whaling industry in the Pacific.^[21] Whalers typically stopped in the islands to resupply, which led to the development of trade networks.^[22] Beginning in the 1840s, islanders were recruited as labourers for plantations in Australia, Fiji and Samoa. Indentured workers were often blackbirded between islands.^[23] The Solomon Islands remained largely unsettled by Europeans and outside established trade routes into the 1870s.^[24] As labor demands increased in the period, Anglican missionaries moved in to the area and though they were eventually accepted, they were unable to achieve success with conversions.^[25] In 1884, Britain and Germany began negotiating which territories were within each nation's sphere of influence.^[25] They signed the Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean in 1886, and Germany took possession of the North Solomon Islands annexing them to the protectorate of German New Guinea.^[25][26][27] At that time, Britain took no action in the Solomons, but when in 1893, the Colony of Queensland excellerated the labour trade, Britain declared the Southern Solomons a British protectorate.^[25]

British protectorate (1893–1978)

When British protectorates were established in 1815, there was little difference between the rights of British subjects and protected persons.^[28] By 1914, British protectorates were considered to be foreign territories lacking an internal government.^[29][30] When Britain extended this status over a territory, it took responsibility for both internal and external administration, including defence and foreign relations. Indigenous persons who were born in a protectorate were known as British Protected Persons (BPP) and were not entitled to be British nationals.^[29] BPPs had no right of return to the United Kingdom and were unable to exercise rights of citizenship; however, they could be issued a passport and could access diplomatic services when travelling abroad.^[31][32][33] Persons born in a British protectorate to a father who was a British national derived their nationality from their parent.^[29] In 1898, Samoan king Malietoa Laupepa died and Germany and the United States each annexed half of the island.^[34] To secure support in renouncing the British claim to German Samoa, in 1899, Germany ceded all of its islands in the Solomons, except those for the Bougainville and Buka Islands to Britain.^[35][36]

Post-independence (1978–present)

At independence, the Solomon Islands became known as Solomon Islands. The government of Solomon Islands wanted to establish nationality only for persons who were indigenous to the islands. Britain wanted to confer nationality on all persons with a connection to Solomon Islands who were either British Protected Persons or Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCs).^[62] As a compromise, only indigenous persons, defined as those who were born in Solomon Islands and had two grandparents who were members of an indigenous society in the New Hebrides, Papua New Guinean or Solomon Islands, automatically received nationality at independence. Anyone else who had been a protected person or CUKC in Solomon Islands could apply for nationality before 7 July 1980.^[62][61] It did not allow persons who had no connection to the country to naturalise. Meaning that persons born in the United Kingdom or other Commonwealth countries who were born, registered, or naturalised in a jurisdiction other than Solomon Islands were not allowed to apply for nationality at independence.^[63] If an applicant's naturalisation was approved, they would cease to be protected persons or CUKCs, upon being granted Solomon Islander nationality.^[61] Persons who were previously BPPs who did not apply by the 1980 deadline, ceased to be BPPs unless they would be rendered stateless.^[64]

Subsequent to the Constitution, Solomon Island passed a Citizenship Act in 1978^[64] Provisions of the 1978 Act were gender discriminatory.^[2] They allowed children to derive the nationality of their fathers after independence if they were legitimate and of their mothers if they were illegitimate.^[65] In the case of a joint adoption, only the father's nationality could be given to a child.^[66] While they allowed a foreign wife to acquire nationality based upon her husband's status as a national of Solomon Islands, she was required to obtain her spouse's permission to change her nationality. A native-born woman's foreign husband could not obtain her nationality, nor could her children be naturalised.^[2][67] A woman was considered to have renounced her Solomon Islander nationality by marrying a foreigner and could repatriate only if the marriage had terminated. If a wife was a foreign woman who had acquired nationality through her native spouse and the couple divorced, she could lose her nationality upon remarriage, if her new spouse was a foreigner. Men could not lose their nationality because of marriage.^[68]

After the conclusion of a civil war in the 1990s, the government agreed that to establish long-term peace, the governmental system and constitution needed to be changed.^[69][70] After calling a constitutional convention, a Draft Constitution was proposed in 2004, which was unsuccessful.^[70][71] Additional drafts were produced in 2009, 2011, and 2014.^[71] In 2016, a consultation was held to approve a new draft of the constitution and leaders of the provinces agreed to the federal draft, but suggested a change to one section dealing with the repatriation of land customary owners. Final changes were due to be presented to the Prime Minister in June 2017.^{[72][Notes 1]} In 2018, Solomon Islands revised its Citizenship Act to eliminate gender discrimination and allow women equality in changing or retaining their nationality.^[75][76] The parliament also passed a Constitutional Amendment 2018 to allow dual nationality.^[73] A program to consider nationality through investment was being debated by parliament in 2020.^[77][78]