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Citizenship |
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Administrative detainee |
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| Social politics | |
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Immigration law |
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements. Colloquial speech refers to people "holding" multiple citizenship but technically each nation is making a claim that this person be considered its national. For this reason, it is possible that a person is a citizen of one, none, or multiple countries. It is possible to obtain a second citizenship through a financial investment in a few countries, e.g., Austria, Cyprus, Dominica and St. Kitts & Nevis.[1]
Individual countries follow their own rationales in establishing their criteria for citizenship. Common reasons to bestow citizenship are: At least one parent is a citizen (jus sanguinis), birth takes place on the country's territory (jus soli), or marriage to a person holding the citizenship (jure matrimonii).[2] In many countries, citizenship can be attained through naturalization. Once citizenship is bestowed, the bestowing country may or may not consider a voluntary renunciation of citizenship to be valid.
Some countries consider multiple citizenship undesirable and take measures to prevent it. This may take the following forms:
However, some countries do recognise foreign nationalities of their citizen. It is possible to become a citizen of multiple countries even if some or all of these countries forbid dual or multiple citizenship. For example, Austria does not allow dual citizenship except for persons who obtain more than one citizenship at the time of birth,[4] but Austrians can apply for a permit to keep their citizenship ("Beibehaltungsgenehmigung") before taking a second one (e.g., Arnold Schwarzenegger holds Austrian and US citizenship). Spain allows dual citizenship with Ibero-American countries, Andorra, Portugal, the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea. Spain does not require citizens of these countries who wish to naturalise to renounce their existing citizenship.[5]
Some countries consider multiple citizenship desirable as it increases opportunities for their citizens to compete globally, and/or have taken active steps towards permitting multiple citizenship in recent years (e.g., Switzerland since 1 January 1992 and Australia since 4 April 2002).[6] India has introduced a form of overseas citizenship, which stops just short of full dual citizenship and is in all aspects, like Permanent Residency.[7] Many countries, even those that permit multiple citizenship, do not recognise 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 (e.g., in Iran,[8] Mexico,[9] many Arab countries, and former Soviet republics) that consular officials abroad may not have access to their citizens if they also hold local citizenship. Some countries 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 recognise multiple citizenship may refer only to the lack of any specific statute forbidding multiple citizenship (leaving aside the difficulties of enforcing such statutes).
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Each country has different requirements for citizenship, as well as different policies regarding dual citizenship. These laws sometimes leave gaps where the acquisition of other citizenships does not render the original citizenship invalid, creating a possible situation for an individual to hold two or more nationalities.
The Republic of Ireland frames its citizenship laws as relating to "the island of Ireland", thereby extending them 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 of Ireland but with a qualifying parent) may exercise an entitlement to Irish citizenship by acting in such a way that only an Irish citizen is entitled to do (such as applying for an Irish passport). Conversely, that such a person has not acted in this way does not necessarily mean that they are not an Irish citizen. See Irish nationality law and British nationality law. People born in Northern Ireland are British citizens on the same basis as people born elsewhere in the United Kingdom. People born in Northern Ireland can hold either a British Passport or an Irish Passport, or both if they so choose.
In the case of naturalisation, some countries require applicants of naturalisation to renounce their former citizenship. This renunciation may not be recognised in other countries. Technically the person in question still possesses both citizenships. For example, the U.K. honours renunciation only if done with its competent authorities, and consequently citizens naturalised in the US remain British citizens in the eyes of the British government even though they are required by US authorities to renounce allegiance to any foreign power.[10]
There exists a provision for an alternative form of Indian nationality, the holders of which are to be known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCI). The Constitution of India does not permit dual citizenship or dual nationality, except for minors where the second nationality was involuntarily acquired. Indian authorities have interpreted this to mean a person cannot have another country's passport while simultaneously holding an Indian one. This is even the case for a child claimed by another country as its citizen, who may be required by the laws of this country to use the corresponding passports for foreign travel (e.g., a child born in the United States to Indian parents). Indian courts have given the executive branch wide discretion over this matter. Overseas Citizenship of India is not a full citizenship of India and thus, does not amount to dual citizenship or dual nationality. E.g., the OCI cannot vote, stand for elections, or take up government posts. Moreover, people who have acquired Citizenship in Pakistan or Bangladesh are not eligible for Overseas Citizenship.
Dual citizenship is associated with two categories of security concerns in the United States: 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. As a matter of fact, if a security clearance applicant's dual citizenship is "based solely on parents' citizenship or birth in a foreign country", that can be a mitigating condition.[14] However, exercising (taking advantage of the entitlements of) a non-U.S. citizenship can cause problems. For example, 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 is explicitly clarified in a Department of Defense policy memorandum which defines a guideline requiring that "... any clearance be denied or revoked unless the applicant surrenders the foreign passport or obtains official permission for its use from the appropriate agency of the United States Government".[15] This guideline has been followed in administrative rulings by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) office of Industrial Security Clearance Review (ISCR), which decides cases involving security clearances for Contractor personnel doing classified work for all DoD components. In one such case, an administrative judge ruled that it is not clearly consistent with U.S. national interest to grant a request for a security clearance to an applicant who was a dual national of the U.S. and Ireland.[16]
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 or government employees; however, it does occur. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger has retained his Austrian citizenship during his service as a Governor of California.[17] In 1999, the U.S. Attorney General's office issued an official opinion that a statutory provision that required the Justice Department to employ only "citizen[s] of the United States"[18] did not bar it from employing dual citizens.[19]
One small controversy did arise in 2005 when Michaëlle Jean was appointed the Governor General of Canada (official representative of the Queen). 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. Article 23-8[20] of the French civil code allows the French government to withdraw the French nationality from French citizens holding government or military positions in other countries and Jean's appointment made her both de jure 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.[21]
Former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner was born in the United Kingdom and retains his dual citizenship to this day. Stéphane Dion, former head of the Liberal Party of Canada and the previous leader of the official opposition, holds dual citizenship with France as a result of his mother's nationality; Dion has, however, indicated a willingness to renounce French citizenship if a significant number of Canadians view it negatively, in order not to hamper his party's prospects in a future election.[22]
The Constitution of Australia, in Section 44, explicitly forbids people who hold foreign citizenship from sitting in the parliament of Australia. A court case (see Sue v Hill) determined that Britain is a foreign power for purposes of this section of the constitution despite Australia and Britain holding a common nationality at the time of Australian federation, and ruling that Senator-elect Heather Hill had not been duly elected to the national parliament because at the time of her election she was a subject or citizen of a foreign power.[23] (This restriction does not apply to members of the state parliaments, where regulations vary by state.)
In some cases, multiple citizenship can create additional tax liability. Countries that impose tax will generally use a combination of three factors when determining if a person is subject to taxation:
Most countries use residency and/or source when determining if a person should be subject to taxation. A few countries, such as the Philippines[24] and the United States, do use citizenship as one of the determining factors for tax liability. The two named countries, however, differ in their treatment of expatriate citizens. The Philippines taxes its expatriates only on Philippine-source income,[24] while U.S. expatriates are subject to tax on all of their worldwide income, although U.S. law provides measures to reduce or eliminate double taxation issues for some expatriates.
A person with multiple citizenship may have a tax liability to his country of residence and also to one or more of his countries of citizenship; or worse, if he was unaware that one of his citizenships created a tax liability, then that country may consider him to be a tax evader. Many countries and territories have contracted tax treaties or agreements for avoiding double taxation. Still, there are cases in which a person with multiple citizenship will owe tax solely on the basis of holding one of those citizenships.
Example: A person who holds both Australian and United States citizenship, lives and works in Australia. He would be subject to Australian taxation, because Australia taxes its residents, and he would be subject to US taxation because he holds US citizenship. In general, he would be allowed to subtract the Australian income tax he paid from the US tax that would be due. Plus, the US will allow some parts of foreign income to be exempt from taxation; for instance, in 2006 the foreign earned income exclusion allowed up to US$82,400 of foreign salaried income to be exempt from income tax.[25] This exemption, plus the credit for foreign taxes paid mentioned above, often results in no US taxes being owed, although a US tax return would still have to be filed. In instances where the Australian tax was less than the US tax, and if there was income that could not be exempted from US tax, the US would expect any tax due to be paid.
The United States Internal Revenue Service has excluded some regulations, e.g. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) from tax treaties that protect double taxation. In its current format even if U.S. citizens are paying income taxes at a rate of 56%, far above the maximum U.S. marginal tax rate, the citizen can be subject to U.S. taxes because the calculation of AMT does not allow full deduction for taxes paid to a foreign countries. Other regulations such as the post date of foreign mailed tax returns are not recognized and can result in penalties for late filing if they arrive at the IRS later than the filing date.
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