What is dual citizenship
This is the name given to the legal status of a citizen of one country who acquires the citizenship of another country. In addition, such status is acquired by him either with or without the approval of the country that issued the first citizenship.
Recognition, consent of a power to the second citizenship of its citizen is an interstate agreement on this issue with another country. It is precisely this kind of agreement that makes the second legal relationship to the power dual in status. This is where their difference lies.
Agreements on dual citizenship are concluded with the aim of resolving contradictions in the laws of states and determining the rights and obligations of persons with dual citizenship. As a result, a legal situation is created in which, for example, military service in one country is recognized by the other party.
Also, if stipulated in a bilateral agreement, the rights of a “dual” citizen are not limited in the matter of appointment to public positions, since he is not considered a foreign citizen. Another example: if it is established in the same agreement, there will be no bilateral taxation. And so on.
Reference . Examples of countries with such twin treaties are France and Canada, Portugal and Brazil.
There are different conditions for granting and losing this status in the laws of countries. For example, the reason for its termination in one country is legislated only by a citizen’s voluntary statement of intention to renounce citizenship, while in another country a person is granted this status without the need to terminate the previous one.
If a citizen of the first country, without its knowledge, receives such a legal connection with the second state, then such a double status does not arise. He remains simply second. The first country will impose on its citizen the full scope of duties and demand their fulfillment, regardless of the fact that the person has fulfilled or is performing the same duties to another country, of which he is also a citizen.
Now let's touch on the legal status that interests us in Ukraine.
Obtaining dual citizenship by Russians
Russian legislation provides for the possibility of obtaining dual citizenship. But Ukrainian laws openly contradict Russian ones. The main difficulty when applying for a passport from a neighboring country will be maintaining a Russian passport. Most likely, the Ukrainian authorities will demand that it be abandoned.
The Ukrainian state has a simplified scheme for obtaining citizenship for certain categories of persons. So, if a Russian citizen was born on Ukrainian territory, has close relatives in a neighboring country, or has lived in the Ukrainian SSR for a long time, then he should contact the Ukrainian embassy or directly the Ukrainian Federal Migration Service. These authorities will definitely help the Russian to complete all the necessary paperwork.
And yet, is it possible to have dual citizenship in Ukraine? Is there really not a single working way to obtain a second passport? There is still one option, which Ukrainians themselves often use. The only question is how long this method will work.
Is it possible to have dual citizenship in Ukraine?
The Constitution of Ukraine establishes a single citizenship in the country. For complete information on this legal status, she suggests turning to Ukrainian state legislation. This is reported in Article 4 of this document.
The Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine” (hereinafter referred to as the Law) implies by this term a general and unique status of citizenship throughout the entire territory of the state, excluding, importantly, similar legal statuses in its regions (clause 1 of Article 2 of the Law). That is, the designated unity is just a proclamation of civil rights and freedoms common to Ukrainians, regardless of the region of the country. This provision does not imply a ban on either second or dual citizenship.
Below is a table with articles of the Law that contradict each other on this issue.
The first column of the table indicates the articles of the Law that allow a citizen of Ukraine to have foreign citizenship at the same time as Ukrainian (with a “plus” sign).
The second column contains articles of the Law that do not allow it to be used along with the Ukrainian one and even provide for liability in the form of its termination (with a minus sign).
Table - Comparison and analysis of articles of the Law
| With a plus sign | With a minus sign |
| Clause 1 of Article 2: the case is recognized when citizens of Ukraine can have citizenship (nationality) of other states, while remaining citizens of Ukraine. Options “except”, no special exceptions are named. | Clause 2 of Article 9: it is reported that foreigners who are citizens (nationality) of several states submit an obligation to terminate their “non-Ukrainian” citizenship (nationality). This indicates the impossibility of having the status of a Ukrainian citizen simultaneously with any other. |
| Clause 3 of Article 2: the principle of the impossibility of depriving a citizen of Ukraine of his citizenship without his will is established. | Clause 1 of Article 19: is called the basis for deprivation of citizenship of adult citizens: voluntary adoption of citizenship of another state. Contradicts the principle of paragraph 3 of article 2. In addition, the voluntary acquisition of a legal connection with another country, for example, the case of its adoption during marriage with a foreigner, is not considered. Those. it is possible to maintain a second citizen status. But then it is unclear on what basis the similar right of those Ukrainians who did not enter into such marriages, but arrived in another country with their family, for example, as labor migrants, is limited. |
However, having studied the Law, we find that there is not a word about dual citizenship at all. In addition, as of 2021, Ukraine does not have existing bilateral agreements on this situation with other countries. Therefore, it is impossible to have dual citizenship in the case of Ukraine!
The only thing Ukrainians can count on is second citizenship. And in this matter, as we see, not everything is so simple.
It seems possible to resolve such legislative absurdities only in court. But the practice of applying this Law shows that the named basis for terminating this legal connection with the state for Ukrainians has not yet been used by its authorities in a forced unilateral manner.
From the lips of the first persons of Ukraine only radical proposals on this topic are heard. In addition, the presence of such a second citizen status among Ukrainians is not formally recorded by government agencies.
What does Ukrainian legislation say about dual citizenship?
Citizenship issues in Ukraine are regulated by the Constitution, the Citizenship Law and international treaties. The Constitution (Article 4) states that in Ukraine there is a single citizenship, and the specific rights and responsibilities of a citizen are spelled out in law.
In 2006, Ukraine signed the European Convention on Nationality. It takes precedence over internal laws, but leaves within the competence of the state the issues of acquiring citizenship, renouncing it and recognizing dual citizenship. The term “dual citizenship” is used only in one case: an agreement is concluded between states that recognizes the right of a person to be considered simultaneously a citizen of both countries. Ukraine has not concluded such agreements. Consequently, Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship. In all other situations, we can only talk about second citizenship, that is, having passports from two countries.
A passport and plastic identification card confirm the status of a citizen of Ukraine
Rights and obligations regarding citizenship are regulated
, which is valid as amended in 2001. Its main principles are: unity of citizenship, the impossibility of deprivation of citizenship and the right to change it. What provisions address the issue of different nationality?
If a citizen of Ukraine has acquired citizenship (nationality) of another state or power, then in legal relations with Ukraine he is recognized only as a citizen of Ukraine. If a foreigner has acquired Ukrainian citizenship, then in legal relations with Ukraine he is recognized only as a citizen of Ukraine.
Article 2 of the Law on Citizenship of Ukraine
https://www.refworld.org.ru/pdfid/533e74ba4.pdf
Ukraine recognizes a person’s belonging to another state only after the Ukrainian one loses its force. This can happen in two ways:
- renunciation of citizenship is a voluntary procedure by which the citizen himself applies to government agencies;
- loss of citizenship, which is initiated by the state due to the fact that a person has lost the right to Ukrainian citizenship.
Under the current law, they cannot be deprived of citizenship. But the procedure for loss is not clearly stated; the law only stipulates the possibility.
The grounds for loss of Ukrainian citizenship are:
1) voluntary acquisition by a citizen of Ukraine of citizenship of another state, if at the time of such acquisition he has reached the age of majority.
Voluntary acquisition of citizenship of another state is considered to be all cases where a citizen of Ukraine, in order to acquire citizenship of another state, had to submit an application or petition for such acquisition in accordance with the procedure established by the national legislation of the state whose citizenship was acquired.
Article 19 of the Law on Citizenship of Ukraine
https://www.refworld.org.ru/pdfid/533e74ba4.pdf
After acquiring another citizenship, the loss of Ukrainian does not occur automatically. To do this, two conditions must be met. Firstly, Ukraine must receive official and reliable information that a person has acquired another citizenship. Secondly, the decree on loss of citizenship is signed by the president, and only after that the person will no longer be considered a citizen of Ukraine.
The issue of children's citizenship is resolved based on the principles of the law. If both parents change citizenship, a child under 16 years old changes it with them. But this does not apply to children whose parents do not actually raise the child (guardianship of other persons has been established). Such children retain Ukrainian citizenship even when their parents resign from it. From 16 to 18 years of age, changes in citizenship are possible only with the consent of the teenager. Other cases are resolved individually by filing a petition.
Decrees on admission and renunciation of citizenship are signed by the President
Are there any exceptions to the law?
The law states that loss of citizenship is possible upon voluntary acquisition of citizenship of another country. Cases of automatic acquisition of citizenship upon birth, marriage and adoption of children by foreigners are not considered as such. Ukraine does not recognize a second citizenship for these people, but they cannot lose their Ukrainian citizenship. But the Ukrainian state will consider them only its citizens and will not recognize their belonging to another country.
Law and practice
The imperfection of the Citizenship Law is a constant topic of discussion in Ukraine, both among legislators and politicians, and among ordinary people. There is no direct ban on second citizenship; there is not even a clear definition of binational status. In addition, there is no liability for second citizenship. Another difficulty is that Ukraine can receive information from another state only through an official request. But he has the right to refuse, citing the preservation of confidentiality of personal data. Moreover, such requests are impossible on a mass scale or without sufficient grounds.
The law clearly states that dual citizenship is not permitted. But in practice difficulties arise. Ordinary people do not always understand how to act correctly in a particular situation. This has led to Ukrainian citizens receiving passports from other countries and not reporting this to the authorities. It turns out that they are in a legal vacuum. Meanwhile, the state sees this as a problem, but does not yet know how to solve it.
In the Chernivtsi region there are a lot of Ukrainians who are also citizens of Romania. In Transcarpathia, the majority of our citizens have Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian passports. In the Lviv region, many Ukrainians received Polish citizenship, and in Crimea and the eastern regions - Russian citizenship. Nobody is dealing with this problem!
Gennady Moskal
https://sud.ua/blog/2016/11/22/89439-o-vtorom-grazhdanstve-v-ykraine-io-vozmozhnih-variantah-rasskazal-mizrah-igor
Now on the agenda is the identification of cases of second citizenship and legal liability for this. The discussion is not just a discussion. Since 2021, the Verkhovna Rada has been considering a bill that would introduce liability for dual citizenship.
Ukrainian law does not allow dual citizenship
What is the punishment?
The answer to this question is incredibly obvious: it is impossible to be punished for something that does not exist and that, in the case of Ukraine, cannot legally arise.
Since such a legal position as dual citizenship is not enshrined in law, there can be no liability in relation to dual citizenship in Ukraine. Therefore, there is also nothing to avoid.
Advice . Use the second citizen status option. And yet, start from the requirements of the law that do not work in your favor, i.e. with a minus sign (see table). If we talk about responsibility for this status, then all that the contradictory Ukrainian legislation promises is the loss of Ukrainian citizenship only on the basis of a decree of the President of Ukraine on its termination. You will not face any administrative arrests, fines or criminal penalties.
