Multiple citizenship

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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.

Some countries bestow citizenship automatically to persons wedding their nationals^{[citation needed]}, to persons with a parent who is one of their nationals (Jus sanguinis), or to persons born on their territory (Jus soli). Multiple citizenships may thus be acquired at birth.

Some countries do not allow their citizens to have the nationality of any other country, or permit this only in certain circumstances (e.g. Singapore & Japan which allow only underage nationals to have other citizenships).^{[citation needed]} 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. 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 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 British passport and Irish Passports. 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".

British Overseas Territories do not have individual 'citizenships' but they do have under their immigration laws a concept of Belonger status which is equivalent. Also see British Overseas Territories citizen

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 after five years and Ålanders loses their regional citizenship after living on the Finnish mainland after five years. See [1] and [2]

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

There are some legal issues about dual citizenship and government services. For example, an American citizen holding another nationality and passport will have difficulty getting a security clearance if that person does not surrender the passport of the other country. 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. One small controversy did arise in 2005 when Michaëlle Jean was appointed the Governor General of Canada, Canada's de-facto head of state. 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 terminated her French citizenship two days before taking up office to avoid controversy.

Although being a citizen of more than one country can be helpful as it affords two or more passports, it is prudent to realise that each citizenship carries responsibilities. This may bring about problems in conscription, as well as allegiance to more than one state. A dual citizen is subject to travel restrictions, embargoes and sets of laws issued by multiple governments governing one's behaviour domestically and while travelling abroad. Also, as a drawback peculiar to a few countries such as the U.S., citizens are obligated to pay taxes in both the country of origin and the actual country of residence. However, many countries and territories have contracted treaties or agreements of avoiding double taxation. For example, as of 2005, Hong Kong has already contracted 33 agreements that address double taxation or its avoidance. 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.

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]}

It brings important personal opportunities and responsibilities. As a citizen of a country, you have the opportunity to live there, go to school, work, get medical care, have children, buy property, and retire. There may be agreements to allow freedom of movement to other countries, as in the European Union. (Although it takes just permanent residency to enjoy some of these benefits.) There may also be responsibilities connected with citizenship, such as potential mandatory military service.

[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 to American parents in the United States who moves to the United Kingdom may, after five years of legal residence (or three years if married to a British citizen) become a British citizen, and therefore will hold dual British/US citizenship.

Example 3: A child is born in Canada to a British born father and a Japanese born mother. The child is entitled to triple citizenship at birth. Lex sanguinis applies for his British and Japanese citizenships through his blood relationship with his father and mother respectively, and lex soli applies for his Canadian citizenship because of his birth on Canadian soil. However, according to Japanese law, at the age of 21 the child would have to decide whether to retain his Japanese citizenship and if so must renounce his British and Canadian passports (although renunciation of British nationality to a foreign authority is not recognised under British nationality law). Furthermore, lex sanguinis would not apply to his children should they be born outside of the UK.

Example 4: 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 5: A person born in the US to one or more 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 6: A person born in Canada to an Algerian father and British mother automatically acquires the Algerian citizenship[3] 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 3), Algeria allows its nationals to acquire multiple citizenship.[4],[5] However, Algeria recognizes its nationals on its soil as Algerian, 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. (Ibid.)

Example 7: A person born in Canada to a Moroccan father and Russian mother automatically acquire's the father's citizenship at birth.[6] 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.[7],[8] Russia and Morocco, like Algeria, allow their nationals to acquire multiple citizenship.

Example 8: A person born in the UK to a Syrian father and Canadian mother automatically acquires the father's citizenship at birth.[9] The child is also entitled to Canadian citizenship (jus sanguinis) and British citizenship (jus soli). Although Canada recognizes multiple citizenship, Syria does not, which could create complications for Syrians who also hold non-Syrian citizenship as well.[10]