Dual citizenship

A BRIEF ANALYSIS

CITIZENSHIP AND EMIGRATION

Submitted to:
Prof. Dr. G.P TRIPATHI
Head of department
MATS Law School, MATS University
Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India

Report by:
AMAN GYAN DAS
MU12BALLB008
UG Student (Semester 9th), BA-LLB (Honors)
MATS Law School, MATS University
Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India
November 2016
1

Acknowledgement

Gratitude is the noble response of ones soul to kindness or help generously rendered by another
and its acknowledgment is a duty and joyance. So it is that I express briefly my debt to those
who have made the creation of this project possible.
I thank the almighty, Lord on whom I believe and depend on. My each and every achievement is
nothing but a look of the God on me.
Then I sincerely thank to our Director Dr. G.P. Tripathi and the faculty of the MATS Law School
for giving me opportunity and facility to complete this work.
Last but never the least I extend my wholehearted thankfulness to my family and friends who
helped me a lot to complete the project.

Table of content

CHAPTER I
Introduction ...01
CHAPTER II
History ...02
CHAPTER III
Citizenship in multiple countries ..04
CHAPTER IV
Why multiple citizenship generally avoided?...................................................07
CHAPTER V
Involuntary multiple citizenship....08
Complex law on dual citizenship...09
CHAPTER VI
The EU, EFTA, and European microstates11
Conclusion 17

INTRODUCTION

Dual citizenship is a person's citizenship status, in which a person is concurrently regarded as a

citizen of more than one state under the laws of those states. Dual citizenship is also known as
multiple citizenship There is no international convention which determines the nationality or
citizen status of a person, which is defined exclusively by national laws, which vary and can be
inconsistent with each other. Multiple citizenship arises because different countries use different,
and not necessarily mutually exclusive, criteria for citizenship. Colloquial speech refers to people
"holding" multiple citizenship but technically each nation makes a claim that this person be
considered its national.
Some countries do not permit dual citizenship. This may be by requiring an applicant for
naturalization to renounce all existing citizenship, or by withdrawing its citizenship from
someone who voluntarily acquires another citizenship, or by other devices. Some countries do
not permit a renunciation of citizenship. Some countries permit a general dual citizenship while
others permit dual citizenship but only of a limited number of countries.
Most countries that permit dual citizenship still may not recognize the other citizenship of its
nationals within its own territory, for example in relation to entry into the country, national
service, duty to vote, etc. Similarly, it may not permit consular access by another country for a
person who is also its national. Some countries prohibit dual citizenship holders from serving in
their military, on police forces or holding certain public offices.

HISTORY
Up until the late 19th century, nations often decided who they claimed as their citizens or
subjects, and did not recognize any other nationalities they held. Many states did not recognize
the right of their citizens to renounce their citizenship without permission, with the feudal theory
of perpetual allegiance to the sovereign still common. This sometimes led to international
incidents, notably the War of 1812, triggered by British impressments of American seamen who
were alleged to be British subjects into naval service.
In the aftermath of the 1867 Fenian Rising, Irish-Americans who had gone to Ireland to
participate in the uprising and were caught were charged with treason, as the British authorities
considered them to be British subjects. This outraged many Irish-Americans, to which the British
responded by pointing out that, just like British law, American law also recognized perpetual
allegiance.[2] As a result, Congress passed the Expatriation Act of 1868, which granted Americans
the right to freely renounce their U.S. citizenship. Britain followed suit with a similar law, and
years later, signed a treaty agreeing to treat British subjects who had become U.S. citizens as no
longer holding British nationality. During this time, diplomatic incidents had also arisen between
the United States and several other European countries over their tendency to conscript
naturalized American citizens visiting their former homelands. In response, the US government
negotiated agreements with various European states known as the Bancroft Treaties, under which
the signatories pledged to treat the voluntary naturalization of a former citizen or national with
another sovereign nation as a renunciation of their citizenship.
As a result, the theory of perpetual allegiance largely fell out of favor with governments during
the late 19th century. With the consensus of the time being that dual citizenship would only lead
to diplomatic problems, more governments began prohibiting it, and revoking the nationality of
citizens holding another nationality. By the mid-20th century, dual nationality was largely
prohibited worldwide, although there were exceptions. For example, a series of U.S. Supreme
Court rulings permitted Americans born with citizenship in another country to keep it without
losing their U.S. citizenship.
At the 1930 League of Nations Codification Conference, an attempt was made to codify
nationality rules into a universal worldwide treaty, the 1930 Hague Convention, whose chief

aims would be to completely abolish both statelessness and dual citizenship. It proposed laws
that would have reduced both, but in the end was ratified by only twenty nations.
However, the consensus against dual nationality began to erode, and by the late 20th century, it
was becoming gradually accepted again, due to changes in social mores and attitudes, with many
states lifting restrictions on dual citizenship. For example, the British Nationality Act
1948 removed restrictions on dual citizenship in the United Kingdom, the 1967 Afroyim v.
Rusk ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited the U.S. government from involuntarily
stripping citizenship from Americans over dual citizenship, and the Canadian Citizenship Act,
1976, removed restrictions on dual citizenship in Canada. The number of states allowing multiple
citizenship further increased after a treaty in Europe requiring signatories to limit dual
citizenship lapsed in the 1990s, and countries with high emigration rates began permitting it to
maintain links with their respective Diasporas.

CITIZENSHIP OF MULTIPLE COUNTRIES

The rights of citizenship are determined by each country, which sets its own criteria for
citizenship. These laws may create situations where a person may satisfy the citizenship
requirements of more than one country simultaneously. This would, in the absence of laws of one
country or the other, allow the person to hold multiple citizenship. National laws may include
criteria as to the circumstances, if any, in which a person may concurrently hold another
citizenship. A country may withdraw its own citizenship if a person acquires a citizenship of
another country, for example:

Citizenship by descent (jus sanguinis). Historically, citizenship was traced through the
father, but today most countries permit the tracing through either parent, and some also
through a grandparent. Today, the citizenship laws of most countries are based on jus
sanguinis. In many cases, this basis for citizenship also extends to children born outside the
country, and sometimes even when the parent has lost citizenship.

Citizenship by birth on the country's territory (jus soli). The United States, Canada, and
many Latin American countries grant unconditional birthright citizenship. To stop birth
tourism, most countries have abolished it; while Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New
Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom have a modified jus soli, which requires at
least one parent to be a citizen of the country (jus sanguinis) or a legal permanent resident
who has lived in the country for several years. In Canada, children born to temporary
residents and diplomats are not granted citizenship at birth. It is usually conferred
automatically on the children once one of the parents obtains citizenship.

Citizenship by marriage (jure matrimonii). Some countries routinely give citizenship to

spouses of its citizens, or may shorten the time for naturalization, but only in a few countries
is citizenship granted on the wedding day1. Some countries have regulations against so-

1 (e.g., Iran)
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called sham marriages 2and some revoke the spouse's citizenship if the marriage terminates
within a specified time 3

Citizenship by naturalization.

Citizenship by adoption. A minor adopted from another country when at least one
adoptive parent is a citizen.

Citizenship by investment. Some countries give citizenship to people who make a

substantial

monetary

investment

in

country.

For

example, Austria, Cyprus, Dominica and St. Kitts & Nevis grant citizenship immediately,
without a requirement for any presence in the country.

Some countries grant citizenship based on religion: Israel gives all Jews the right to
immigrate to Israel, by the Law of Return, and fast-tracked citizenship. Dual citizenship is
permitted, but when entering the country the Israeli passport must be used. The Algerian
nationality law grants citizenship only to Muslims whose father and paternal grandfather
were Muslims.[9] In the Maldives, on 7 August 2008, President Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom enacted a law that allows only Muslims to become citizens of the Maldives
(exceptions are persons born in the Maldives whose parents are already citizens, but the
exercise of religions other than Islam is illegal).

Citizenship by holding an office 4In the case of Vatican City, citizenship is based on
holding an office, with Vatican citizenship held by the Pope, cardinals residing in Vatican
City, active members of the Holy See's diplomatic service, and other directors of Vatican
offices and services. Vatican citizenship is lost when the office term comes to an end, and
children cannot inherit it from their parents. Since Vatican citizenship is time-limited, dual

2 (e.g., the United States)

3 (e.g., Algeria).
4 (jus oficii).
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citizenship is allowed, and persons who would become stateless because of loss of Vatican
citizenship automatically become Italian citizens.
Once a country bestows citizenship, it may or may not consider a voluntary renunciation of that
citizenship to be valid. In the case of naturalization, some countries require applicants for
naturalization to renounce their former citizenship. For example, United States Chief
Justice John Rutledge ruled "a man may, at the same time, enjoy the rights of citizenship under
two governments", but the United States requires applicants for naturalization to swear to an
oath renouncing all prior "allegiance and fidelity" to any other nation or sovereignty as part of
the naturalization ceremony. However, some countries do not recognize one of its citizens
renouncing its citizenship. Effectively, the person in question may still possess both citizenships,
notwithstanding the technical fact that he or she may have explicitly renounced one of the
country's citizenships before officials of the other. For example, the United Kingdom recognizes
a renunciation of citizenship only if it is done with competent UK authorities. Consequently,
British citizens naturalized in the United States remain British citizens in the eyes of the British
government even after they renounce British allegiance to the satisfaction of United States
authorities.
Irish nationality law applies to "the island of Ireland", which extends citizenship to Northern
Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Therefore, anyone born in Northern Ireland who
meets the requirements for being an Irish citizen through birth on the "island of Ireland" (or a
child born outside Ireland but with a qualifying parent) can exercise rights accorded only to Irish
citizens, including that of traveling under an Irish passport. Under Irish law, even if such a
person has not acted in this way does not necessarily mean that they are not entitled to Irish
citizenship. (See Irish nationality law and British nationality law.) People born in Northern
Ireland are also British citizens on the same basis as people born elsewhere in the UK. People
born in Northern Ireland may choose to hold a British passport, an Irish passport, or both

WHY MULTIPLE CITIZENSHIP GENERALLY AVOIDED?

Some countries consider multiple citizenship undesirable and take measures to avoid it. Since a
country has control only over who has its citizenship, but has no control over who has any other
country's citizenship, the only way for a country to avoid multiple citizenship is to deny its
citizenship to people in cases when they would have another citizenship. This may take the
following forms:

Automatic loss of citizenship if another citizenship is acquired voluntarily, such

as Austria, Azerbaijan, Mainland

China, India, Indonesia, Japan,

Kazakhstan, Nepal, the

Netherlands (unless certain conditions are met), Norway. Saudi Arabian citizenship may be
withdrawn if a Saudi citizen obtains a foreign citizenship without the permission of the
Prime Minister.

Possible (but not automatic) loss of citizenship if another citizenship is acquired

voluntarily, such as Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa.

Possible (but not automatic) loss of citizenship if people with multiple citizenships do not
renounce their other citizenships after reaching the age of majority or within a certain period
of time after obtaining multiple citizenships, such as Japan and Montenegro. In Montenegro
loss is automatic with some exceptions.

Denying automatic citizenship from birth if the child may acquire another citizenship
automatically at birth.

Requiring an applicant for naturalization to apply to renounce his/her existing

citizenship(s), and provide proof from those countries that they have renounced citizenship,
as a condition of naturalization.

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INVOENTARY MULTIPLE CITIZENSHIP

Involuntary multiple citizenship can happen in two ways:

1. The parents have different citizenships or are multiple citizens themselves.
2. Some countries (e.g., Canada, the United States of America and most other countries in
the Americas) regard all babies born there automatically as citizens even if the
parents are not legally present (jus soli).
For example, a baby born in the United States to Norwegian parents automatically has
dual citizenship with the United States and Norway although Norway usually restricts or
forbids dual citizenship.
This has led to birth tourism, so some countries have abolished jus soli or restricted it (i.e., at
least one parent must be a citizen or a legal, permanent resident who has lived in the country for
several years). Some countries forbid their citizens to renounce their citizenship or try to
discourage them from doing so.

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COMPLEX LAW ON DUAL CITIZENSHIP

Some countries do not simply allow or forbid dual or multiple citizenship in general, but have
more complex rules, such as:

Some countries allow dual citizenship, but restrict the rights of dual citizens; in Australia,
Egypt and Israel, dual citizens cannot be elected to Parliament; in the United States, dual
citizenship is not an issue but only "natural-born citizens" may hold the offices of President
or Vice President, naturalized citizens can hold any other office.

Germany and Austria for the most part do not permit dual citizenship except for persons
who obtain more than one citizenship at the time of birth. Germans and Austrians can apply
for special permission to keep their citizenship before taking a second one (for example, both
Austria and the United States consider Arnold a citizen). In general, however, any Austrian
who takes up a second citizenship will automatically lose Austrian citizenship. Since August
2007, Germany has recognized dual citizenship if the other citizenship is either one of an EU
member country or a Swiss citizenship so that permission is not required anymore in these
cases, and in some exceptional cases, non-EU and non-Swiss citizens can keep their old
citizenship when they become citizens of Germany. For more details, see German. Due to
changes of the German law on dual citizenship, children of non-EU legal permanent
residents can have dual citizenship if born and grown up in Germany (the foreign-born
parents usually cannot have dual citizenship themselves).

Acquisition of the nationality of Andorra, Portugal, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or

Latin American countries, is not sufficient to cause the loss of Spanish nationality by birth.
Spain has dual citizenship treaties with Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
the Dominicanrepublic, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua,Paraguay, Peru,
and Puerto Rico; Spaniards residing in these countries do not lose their rights as Spaniards if
they adopt that nationality. For all other countries, Spanish citizenship is lost three years after
the acquisition of the foreign citizenship unless the individual declares officially their will to
retain Spanish citizenship (Spanish Nationality Law). Upon request Spain has allowed
persons from Puerto Rico to acquire Spanish citizenship. On the other hand, foreign
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nationals that acquire the Spanish nationality lose their previous nationality, unless they were
natural-born citizens of an Iberoamerican country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial
Guinea or Portugal, even if these countries do not grant their citizens a similar treatment.
5

Prior to 2011, South Korea did not permit dual citizenship after the age of 21. Now a limited

number of persons can have it. For details, see South Korean nationality law Dual
citizenship.

Like Germans and Austrians, citizens of South Africa must apply for permission to keep
their citizenship when acquiring the citizenship of another country.

The Turkish government requires that Turkish citizens who apply for another nationality
inform the appropriate Turkish officials (the nearest Turkish embassy or consulate abroad)
and provide the original naturalization certificate, Turkish birth certificate, document
showing completion of military service (for males), marriage certificate (if applicable) and
four photographs. Dual nationals are not compelled to use a Turkish passport to enter and
leave Turkey; it is permitted to travel with a valid foreign passport and the Turkish National
ID card.

Pakistan allows dual citizenship with only 16 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt,
France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland,
Syria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

5 See also the section on "dormant" citizenship.

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THE EU, EFTA AND EUROPIAN MICROSTATES

The EU and EFTA countries have various policies regarding dual citizenship, because each
country can make its own laws. The only real rule is that a citizen of an EU country can live and
work indefinitely in other EU countries and in the four EFTA countries (and citizens of the EFTA
countries can live and work indefinitely in the EU). However, the right to vote and work in
certain sensitive fields (such as government, police, military) might in some cases be restricted to
the local citizens only.
The countries can exclude immigrants from getting welfare in the first three months to avoid
"welfare tourism", and they can refuse welfare completely if the immigrants do not have a job
after a certain period of time and do not try to get one. Immigrants convicted of welfare
fraud can be deported and be refused the re-entry of the country. On September 15, 2015, the
European Court of Justice ruled that EU countries can refuse to pay unemployment benefits to
immigrants who have lost their job even if they are citizens of other EU countries. The judge
stated that EU rules allow member states to refuse unemployment benefits to people from other
EU nations to stop them becoming "an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of
the host Member State". This backs up a 2014 ruling, in which the court ruled that "poverty
immigrants" who came to Germany just to receive social security benefits were not entitled to
receive them.
Within the EU, mandatory military service exists, at least in peacetime, only in Austria, Cyprus,
Estonia, Finland, and Greece (In all countries but Cyprus, alternative service is available). Within
the EFTA countries, only Switzerland requires it (alternative service is available); Iceland and
Liechtenstein have no armed forces; in Norway, military service is de jure mandatory, but the
enforcement is limited, so some sources claim it is de facto voluntary.
In Liechtenstein and in the Swiss Canton of Schaffhausen, voting is compulsory for citizens. In
the EU, it is compulsory in Cyprus and Luxembourg (in Luxembourg, it is voluntary for those
over 70 years). In Belgium, it is compulsory for all citizens from age 18 to present themselves at
a polling station; legal sanctions exist, but only the sanctions for absent appointed polling station
staff have been enforced by prosecutors since 2003.

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The four microstates (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City) are not EU or EFTA
members. Between them, the EU, and the EFTA there is visa-free travel, but no agreements on
immigration and access to the job markets.
For details, see the nationality law of the country concerned and Citizenship of the European
Union.
Austria - dual citizenship is possible with special permission or if it was obtained at
birth.

Belgium - allows dual citizenship.

Bulgaria - Bulgarian citizens of descent can have dual citizenship, but foreigners
wanting to naturalize must renounce their old citizenship.

Croatia - generally allows citizens by descent to have dual citizenship and forbids it only
in certain cases, but foreigners wanting to naturalize must renounce their old citizenship.

Cyprus - allows dual citizenship.

Northern Cyprus is not generally recognized by the international community as a

sovereign state. No nation other than Turkey has officially recognized Northern Cyprus.
[34]

The United Nations considers the declaration of independence by Northern Cyprus as

legally

invalid,

as

enunciated

in

several

of

its

resolutions. [35][36] The United

Nations recognizes Northern Cyprus as territory of the Republic of Cyprus under Turkish
occupation.[35] Turkey permits Citizens of Northern Cyprus to live and work in Turkey
under the same requirements as Turkish citizens, and provides a special type of passport
for Northern Cyprus citizens. Despite the ethnic and physical division of Turkish
Cypriots from the rest of Cyprus, they can obtain Cypriot passports and ID cards if they
prove to be Cypriots by descent. Turkish settlers in the northern part of Cyprus are not
entitled to Cypriot citizenship.
15

Czech Republic - has allowed multiple citizenship since January 1, 2014.

Denmark - allows dual citizenship. Note that not all Danish citizens are EU citizens.

Estonia - forbids dual citizenship, but citizens by descent cannot be deprived of their
Estonian citizenship, so they de facto can have dual citizenship.

Finland - allows dual citizenship.

France - allows dual citizenship.

Germany - (see above) allows dual citizenship with other EU countries and Switzerland;
dual citizenship with other countries is possible with special permission or if obtained at
birth; children of non-EU/non-Swiss legal permanent residents can have dual citizenship
if born and grown up in Germany 6

Greece - allows dual citizenship.

Hungary - grants dual citizenship to people living in, and having ancestors in territories
which were annexed from Hungary at the end of World War I, provided they can still
speak Hungarian.

Ireland - allows and encourages dual citizenship, but a naturalized citizen can lose Irish
citizenship again when naturalizing in another country; Ireland was the last European
country to abolish unconditional birthright citizenship [in 2004] in order to stop "birth

6 (The parents born and grown up abroad must have resided in Germany for at least eight years and must have had
the legal-permanent-resident status for at least three years, and usually cannot have dual citizenship themselves).

16

tourism" and to replace it by a modified form: at least one parent must be a citizen or a
legal permanent resident.

Italy - allows dual citizenship.

Latvia - from October 1, 2013, dual citizenship with Latvia has been allowed for citizens
of member countries of EU, NATO and EFTA [Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,
Switzerland]; citizens of Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, New Zealand; citizens of the
counties that have mutual recognition of dual citizenship with Latvia; people who were
granted the dual citizenship by the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia; people who have
applied for dual citizenship before the previous Latvian Citizenship law.7

Lithuania - Article 12 of the Lithuanian Constitution states that only in "individual cases
provided for by law" is dual citizenship permitted.8

Luxembourg - allows dual citizenship.

Malta - allows dual citizenship.

Netherlands - dual citizenship is allowed under certain conditions: e.g., foreign

citizenship may be kept if obtained at birth or in the event of naturalization via marriage.

Northern Cyprus - see Cyprus, remarks about Northern Cyprus.

Poland - does not deal with the issue of dual citizenship, but possession of another
citizenship is tolerated since there are no penalties for its possession alone. However,
penalties do exist for exercising foreign citizenship, such as identifying oneself to Polish
7 [1995].
8 [Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted on Oct. 25, 1992, in force from November 2, 1992].

17

authorities using a foreign identification document or serving in a foreign military

without permission of Polish military authorities. Dual citizens are not exempted from
their duties as Polish citizens. Under some circumstances, ethnic Poles can apply for the
"Polish Card" 9

Portugal - allows dual citizenship.

Romania - allows dual citizenship

Slovakia - dual citizenship is permitted to Slovak citizens who acquire a second
citizenship by birth or through marriage; and to foreign nationals who apply for Slovak
citizenship and meet the requirements of the Citizenship Act. Please note that after the
'Hungarian-Slovak citizenship conflict' (year 2010) some restrictions to dual citizenship
may apply.

Slovenia - generally allows citizens by descent to have dual citizenship and forbids it
only in certain cases, but foreigners wanting to naturalize must renounce their old
citizenship.

Spain - (see above) Spanish citizens by descent can have dual citizenship; Spanish laws
knows a "dormant citizenship" for citizens naturalizing in Iberoamerican countries: They
do not lose their citizenship, but their status and their rights as citizens of Spainand of
the EUare inactive until they move back to Spain. Foreigners wanting to naturalize in
Spain must usually renounce their old citizenship; exceptions are made for citizens of
some Iberoamerican countries, Puerto Rico, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea,
and Portugal. Since 2014, Spain has granted Spanish nationality to Sephardi
Jews regardless of nationality.

Sweden - allows dual citizenship.

9 [Karta Polaka].
18

United Kingdom - allows dual citizenship. Note that not all British citizens are EU citizens (see
below).
The Faroe Islands belong to Denmark, but not the EU, so their inhabitants are Danish citizens,
but not EU citizens. Greenland left the EC in 1985, but Greenlanders are considered EU
citizens.
These British and Danish citizens obtain or procure "local" passports (in practice, citizens of
Faroe Islands and Greenland can choose between local and "European" passports, and citizens of
the Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man receive passports bearing the title "British Isles"
alongside the dependency's respective name); they can become "full" EU citizens by moving to
and living permanently in the United Kingdom or in Denmark, as the case may be.
British citizens bearing passports from the Crown dependencies but having sufficient conations
to the UK-proper or Gibraltar are considered EU-citizens.

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CONCLUSION

As seen in this paper, numbers of aspects are dealt with accordance to dual citizenship.
This paper throws light on the concept of dual citizenship and facilitates a clear understanding
related to the same.
The rights of citizenship are determined by each country, which sets its own criteria for
citizenship. These laws may create situations where a person may satisfy the citizenship
requirements of more than one country simultaneously. This would, in the absence of laws of one
country or the other, allow the person to hold multiple citizenship. National laws may include
criteria as to the circumstances, if any, in which a person may concurrently hold another
citizenship. A country may withdraw its own citizenship if a person acquires a citizenship of
another country. Some countries do not permit dual citizenship. This may be by requiring an
applicant for naturalization to renounce all existing citizenship, or by withdrawing its citizenship
from someone who voluntarily acquires another citizenship, or by other devices. Some countries
do not permit a renunciation of citizenship. Some countries permit a general dual citizenship
while others permit dual citizenship but only of a limited number of countries.
Hence it can be said that in the field of citizenship and emigration understanding the concept of
dual citizenship carries great importance.

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