Feminist scholars have made an impressive contribution to the rethinking of citizenship, but they have largely neglected the gender differentiation of citizenship acquisition. This neglect has resulted in a lack of knowledge concerning the processes of change underpinning nationality reforms that have weakened the patriarchal nature of citizenship. This article seeks to fill the current void through a comparative analysis of nationality reforms that have granted married women an independent right to nationality and mothers the right to transmit their nationality to their children. It examines the politics of these reforms in the United States, France and Germany as well as the international dimension of these nationality reforms. The analysis reveals the long-term significance of the early internationalization of women’s nationality rights and the interplay between domestic and transnational feminist activism.