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I'm asking about the cases of 1) converts with no Jewish lineage, or 2) children born to Jewish mothers and Gentile fathers. How is tribal identification for such a person and his descendants determined? Please make sure answers cover both situations.

Mr. Bultitude
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A person who does not have a Jewish father (whether a convert or a Jew because of the mother) does not belong to any of the twelves tribes. The reason is that tribal membership follows the status of the father. An example is the case of the blasphemer at the end of Parshas Emor (24:10-23) He was the son of an Egyptian man and an Israelite woman of the tribe of Dan. The meforshim state that he attempted to join his mother's tribe and the court rejected his claim. As a result, he blasphemed and was punished.

The point is that a person is a member of a tribe if and only if his mother is Jewish (so that he is Jewish) and his father is a member of one of the twelve tribes.

Additionally, a convert is considered as a "tinok shenolad" (a new born baby). This means that technically he has no relatives. Any relationship restrictions are because of rabbinic law and not from the Torah (such as brother and sister who convert).

We also see this when the Torah deals with the case of a ger who dies with no children to inherit his property.

sabbahillel
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    so he has no tribal affiliation? what about his children? what happens to that group of people, do they have to buy into walled city real estate to have an inheritance in Israel? – alice fine May 18 '15 at 08:49
  • @alicefine They have the status of their father. The answer to your second question is yes. – sabbahillel May 18 '15 at 12:02
  • any other way other than buying in a walled city to get yerusha in israel? – alice fine May 18 '15 at 16:31
  • @alicefine non real property is inherited. Similarly, the lease to the end of yovel is inherited. Probably, when the mashiach comes, property will be redistributed since the families have been completely mixed up since the destruction of the first temple. I think that when Ezra and Nechemiah returned, the properties were redistributed. However, I do not know enought about that to say. Note that Yovel does not apply until all twelve tribes are settled and occupy the land. As a result once the tribes of Reuven Gad, and part of Menasheh were exiled from the "East Bank" of the Jorden, Yovel ended. – sabbahillel May 18 '15 at 18:06
  • Does this mean that if someone were born to a Benjamite father and Gentile mother, then converted to Judaism, such a person would be a Jew with no tribe? – Mr. Bultitude May 24 '15 at 06:13
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    @Mr.Bultitude yes that is correct. – sabbahillel May 26 '15 at 02:09
  • @alicefine, they could buy (as opposed to lease) in any lands conquered that weren't apportioned in Yehoshua's day. Like when David settled Suria (a subset of modern Jordan and Syria). Or when Mashiach comes, much of the Negev. (There is some conjecture reconstructing the southern border of then compared to now. But see https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg or https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Maps/Maps/Twelve-Tribes-of-Israel.jpg -- the State of Israel will be handing the king a lot of territory to the south of Judah.) – Micha Berger Oct 20 '21 at 15:41
  • @Mr.Bultitude, converts are treated as adopted children of Avraham and Sarah. For example, when called up to the Torah we say "... ben Avraham" or when sick we would pray for "... ben Sarah". Since they predate our division into tribes, maybe we could poetically consider such a person to be a Jew of all tribes. (Rather than of none.) – Micha Berger Oct 20 '21 at 15:43
  • @micha berger What about Yechezkel 47:22-23? – Derdeer Nov 09 '21 at 23:05
  • @Derdeer This is what will happen after the Mashiach comes. As of now, the convert does not belong to one of the twelve tribes. After the Mashiach comes and the Jews return to the land there will be a new distribution and convertds will then be adopted into the tribes. Until then this will not occur. – sabbahillel Nov 10 '21 at 02:11