Multiple citizenship

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Countries that do (yellow) and do not (red) permit multiple citizenship. No information is available for countries colored gray. In many countries the situation is far more complex than just 'yes' or 'no'.

Multiple citizenship, or multiple nationality, is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state.

Dual citizenship (being a citizen of two nations), or dual nationality, is by far the most common type of multiple citizenship, as nothing in international law prevents anyone from establishing citizenship in two countries.

Multiple citizenships can be acquired because countries use different and not necessarily mutually exclusive criteria to bestow their citizenship. Some countries bestow citizenship automatically at birth to persons with a parent who is one of their nationals (jus sanguinis), or to persons born on their territory (jus soli), or through marriage to persons wedding their nationals.^{[citation needed]} In addition, citizenship can be granted on request through naturalization.

Some countries consider multiple citizenship undesirable and take measures to prevent it; this may take the form of an automatic loss of a citizenship if another citizenship is acquired voluntarily (e.g. in Germany or Japan) or criminal penalties for exercising another citizenship (e.g. carrying a foreign passport in Saudi Arabia). (Germany changed its laws in 2000 and will now allow German citizens to keep their German citizenship even if they acquire another citizenship, but ONLY if they file a request to keep German citizenship (Beibehaltungsantrag) and that request is approved BEFORE they accept another country's citizenship.) Others may allow a citizen to have any number of nationalities. However, since each country decides for itself who its citizens are, based solely on its own laws and generally without regard for the laws of other countries, it is quite possible for a given individual to be considered a citizen by two or more countries even if some or all of these countries forbid dual or multiple citizenship.

Many countries, even those which "permit" dual or multiple citizenship, do not "recognize" dual or multiple citizenship under their laws: individuals are treated either as citizens of that country or not, and their citizenship with respect to other countries is considered to have no bearing. This can mean, for example, that consular officials abroad may not have access to their citizens if they also hold local citizenship (eg. Iran, [1] Mexico, many Arab countries, former Soviet republics). Some countries may provide access for consular officials as a matter of courtesy, but do not accept any obligation to do so under international consular agreements. The right of countries to act in this fashion is protected via the Master Nationality Rule. In popular discourse, reference to countries that "recognize" multiple citizenship may refer only to the lack of any specific statute forbidding multiple citizenship (leaving aside the difficulties of enforcing such statutes).

1 Citizenship of multiple countries
2 Sub-national citizenship
3 Supra-national citizenship
4 Issues
5 Examples
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Citizenship of multiple countries

Each country has different requirements for citizenship, as well as different policies regarding dual citizenship. An Australian study estimated that 4-5 million Australians (up to 25% of the Australian population - by far the largest group at 1.6 million of these, from the UK) had dual citizenship in 2000. An estimated sixty percent of Swiss nationals living abroad in 1998 were dual citizens. Approximately 89 countries in the world officially allow some form of dual or multiple citizenship. In the United States it is estimated that millions of Americans are also citizens of other countries. Although Germany has a very restrictive nationality law, it does allow dual citizenship under certain circumstances and the number of dual-citizens was estimated at 1.2 million in 1994. See German nationality law

The Republic of Ireland extends its citizenship laws to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Therefore, most people born in Northern Ireland who are British citizens just like people born else where in the United Kingdom may, if they wish, exercise an entitlement to Irish citizenship by simply applying for an Irish passport. Most people born in Northern Ireland may hold either a British passport or an Irish passport or both. See Irish nationality law and British nationality law.

[edit] Sub-national citizenship

The U.S. Constitution also recognizes "dual citizenship" with each of the U.S. states. State citizenship, however, is informal in practice, and is obtained simply by taking up residence in any given state. (Residents of the District of Columbia do not have dual citizenship, as it is not a state.) There is now almost no legal bearing brought by such an arrangement, except possibly for interstate extradition.

Switzerland has a three tier system of citizenship - Confederation, canton and commune (municipality).

Although considered part of the United Kingdom for British nationality purposes, the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have local legislation restricting certain employment and housing rights to those with "local status".

The Australian territory of Norfolk Island has immigration laws which restrict residence in the territory to those with "local status". Most Norfolk Islanders are Australian citizens

The Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions of the Peoples Republic of China make a distinction in their immigration laws between Chinese citizens with the right to reside in the territory and those without. Chinese citizens with right of abode in these territories can hold a different type of Chinese passport which gives more favourable travel rights internationally.

People from Åland have joint regional (Åland) and national (Finnish) citizenship. People with Ålandic citizenship (hembygdsrätt) have the right to buy property and setup a business on Åland, which Finns without regional citizenship cannot. Finns can get Ålandic citizenship after living on the islands for five years and Ålanders lose their regional citizenship after living on the Finnish mainland for five years. [2] [3]

Prior to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Czechoslovak citizens also possessed an internal citizenship of either the Czech or Slovak Republic.

Before the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, Yugoslav citizens possessed an internal citizenship of their own republic (e.g. Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia etc.) as well as Yugoslav citizenship.

[edit] Supra-national citizenship

In European Union law there is the concept of EU citizenship which flows from citizenship of a member state.

The Commonwealth of Nations has a Commonwealth citizenship for the citizens of its members. Some member states (such as the UK) allow non-nationals who are Commonwealth citizens to vote and stand for election while resident there. However, other member states make little or no distinction between citizens of other Commonwealth nations and citizens of non-Commonwealth nations.

[edit] Issues

Being a citizen of more than one country can have many advantages as it allows to draw various citizenship benefits from multiple sources. This includes the rights to establish residence, to work, and to acquire property, educational opportunities, eligibility for various government subsidies, including healthcare and retirement, etc. However, it is prudent to realize that each citizenship carries also responsibilities and obligations and that being a citizen of another country may be a liability. There are a number of categories where potential problems call for caution or even for obtaining professional legal counsel.

[edit] Security clearance

Dual citizenship is associated with two categories of security concerns: foreign influence and foreign preference. Contrary to common misconceptions, dual citizenship in itself is not the major problem in obtaining or retaining security clearance in the United States, but it is its exercising, i.e. the actual taking advantage of the entitlements of another citizenship. As a matter fact, dual citizenship that is "based solely on parents' citizenship or birth in a foreign country" is a mitigating condition [4]. However, possession and/or use of a foreign passport is a condition disqualifying from security clearance and "is not mitigated by reasons of personal convenience, safety, requirements of foreign law, or the identity of the foreign country" as explicitly clarified in a Department of Defense policy memorandum (the "Money Memorandum") and confirmed in a number of court decisions, for instance [5].

[edit] Appearance of foreign allegiance

In addition to the formal adjudicative process of security clearance, there is a matter of public perception for individuals with dual citizenship as demonstrating potential dual loyalty that applies to any government office, even one that does not require security clearance.

In the United States, dual citizenship is not very common among politicians, although Arnold Schwarzenegger has retained his Austrian citizenship during his service as a Governor of California.

In Canada, conversely, federal cabinet ministers often have dual citizenship with France or the United Kingdom and this in the past has not been an issue to their security clearances^{[citation needed]}. One small controversy did arise in 2005 when Michaëlle Jean was appointed the Governor General of Canada (official representative of the Queen and Canada's de facto head of state in the Queen's absence). Although Jean no longer holds citizenship in her native Haiti, her marriage to French-born filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond allowed her to obtain French citizenship several years before her appointment. A section of the French civil code forbids French citizens from holding government or military positions in other countries and Jean's appointment made her both de facto head of state and commander-in-chief of the Canadian forces. The French embassy released a statement that this law would not be enforced because the Governor General is essentially a ceremonial figurehead. Nevertheless Jean renounced her French citizenship two days before taking up office to avoid controversy. ^[1]

[edit] Taxation

Although taxes are often tied only to residence, certain countries, including the United States, require their citizens to file tax returns and pay taxes even if they reside permanently abroad. This problem is reduced because many countries and territories have contracted tax treaties or agreements for avoiding double taxation. In addition, parts of foreign income may be exempt from taxation, for instance, the United States allows currently up to $82,400 foreign earned income to be exempt from income tax.

[edit] Other

There may be also problems with conscription, travel restrictions, embargoes and sets of laws issued by multiple governments governing one's behaviour domestically and while travelling abroad. In extreme cases, such as when the countries of citizenship are at war with each other, a dual citizen's international status can be very complicated. If someone faces problems resulting from multiple citizenship, they may choose to resolve them by renouncing the undesirable citizenship(s).

The number of multiple citizens is large and increasing. Millions of people in the world are now citizens of more than one country.

After the events of 11 September 2001, the security issue was raised of persons with multiple citizenship travelling under different names - having passports under their old and new names from different countries - and using one kind of passport to exit a country, while travelling on another passport in a different name abroad, and not disclosing this travel upon return. Legislation is being prepared in Canada to end this practice, and to identify persons travelling abroad under different names and passports, and identify security threats from such individuals.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Examples

Example 1: A person born in Canada to a Canadian citizen and an American citizen would have Canadian citizenship by birth, and may also have US citizenship, depending on certain circumstances (the parents' marital status, date of the child's birth, and whether the US citizen parent has met certain physical presence requirements). If the requirements have been met, then the child would also be a US citizen, and therefore would have dual citizenship.

Example 2: A person born in Canada after January 1, 1983 to parents who are respectively a Japanese citizen and a British citizen (otherwise than by descent) is entitled to triple citizenship at birth. Lex sanguinis applies for British and Japanese citizenships through parental blood relationships, and lex soli applies for Canadian citizenship because of birth on Canadian soil. However, according to Japanese nationality law, Japanese citizenship would be lost if British and Canadian citizenships are not renounced between the ages of 20 and 22 (although renunciation of British nationality to a foreign authority is not recognised under British nationality law). Furthermore, lex sanguinis would not apply to this person's children born outside of the UK. Lastly, this person's British citizenship entitles right of abode in the United Kingdom.

Example 3: A British citizen also holds European Union and Commonwealth of Nations citizenship. In addition, most UK citizens born in Northern Ireland are also entitled to citizenship of the Republic of Ireland.

Example 4: A person born in the US to one or both Canadian parents is entitled to both US and Canadian citizenship. A person born outside Canada to a Canadian parent is a Canadian citizen (though, in certain limited situations, the Canadian citizenship of someone born to a Canadian parent outside Canada may expire on the person's 28th birthday).

Example 5: A person born in Canada to an Algerian father and British mother automatically acquires the Algerian citizenship [6] and is entitled to British citizenship (in both cases, jus sanguinis). The child also is also entitled to Canadian citizenship (jus soli). Unlike Japan (see Example 2), Algeria allows its nationals to acquire multiple citizenship. [7], [8] However, Algeria recognizes its nationals on its soil as Algerian, which can limit the ability of other countries whose citizenship the child possesses to provide consular assistance to the child when (s)he encounters problems. (Ibid.)

Example 6: A person born in Canada to a Moroccan father and Russian mother automatically acquires the father's citizenship at birth. [9] The child is also entitled to Russian citizenship (jus sanguinis) and Canadian citizenship (jus soli). However, Morocco and Russia recognize their nationals on their soil as their nationals, which can limit the ability of other countries whose citizenship the child possesses from providing consular assistance to the child when (s)he encounters problems. [10],[11] Russia and Morocco, like Algeria, allow their nationals to acquire multiple citizenship.

Example 7: A person born in the UK to a Syrian father and American mother automatically acquires the father's citizenship at birth. [12] The child may also be entitled to United States citizenship (jus sanguinis), depending on the parent's marital status and the amount of physical presence the mother has spent in the U.S. Although America recognizes multiple citizenship, Syria does not, which could create complications for Syrians who also hold non-Syrian citizenship. [13] If the child was born inside the UK after 1 January 1983 the child would only have British citizenship if one of the parents were "settled" (holds Indefinite Leave to Remain) in the UK. Prior to this date anyone born in the UK was automatically a British Citizen.

Example 8: A person of Chinese descent born in Hong Kong prior to 1 January 1983 would be a British subject (known also as Commonwealth citizen at that time); citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies; and People's Republic of China citizen at birth, with right to abode in Hong Kong (jus soli in both cases; and jus sanguinis for China). This is to note that the PRC recognises only Chinese citizenship for its Chinese nationals born within the "official" borders of the PRC which includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. When this person become naturalised in a foreign country, say Canada, he would normally have lost his PRC citizenship status automatically, if not immediately after 1 July 1997 -- when Chinese Nationality Law would take effect in Hong Kong. However, a special interpretation given in 1996 for the Hong Kong Basic Law allows for this person to keep his Chinese nationality but his foreign nationality would not be recognised on PRC soil. This person's British nationality of any kind in connection with Hong Kong would have been lost unless he has applied for British National (Overseas) status prior to 1 July 1997. But through his Canadian citizenship, this person is still a Commonwealth citizen. Being a person of Chinese descent who has a third country of permanent residence (Canada), this person is also entitled to claim Republic of China citizenship (jus sanguinis). He is eligible to obtain a ROC passport since theoretically all Chinese are ROC citizen. Controversially, this would be contradictory to his PRC citizenship.

Example 9: A citizen of Ireland who naturalizes in the United States would end up having both Irish and U.S. citizenships, despite the fact that the U.S. naturalization oath contains a statement of renunciation. This is because the statement of renunciation is made before U.S. officials only, and Ireland would not view it has having any effect under Irish law.