Renunciation of citizenship is the voluntary or intentional act of relinquishing one’s nationality which is quite the opposite of naturalisation. Meanwhile, it also differs to denaturalisation because losing citizenship is the step taken by a state’s government only if the person failed to abide by the laws or conduct any felony. We’ll cover the details for clarification so keep reading to know more!
Significant Practices
The common doctrine of continuous loyalty denied the individual from renouncing obligations or vows taken for his sovereign country. Such practices were held in different ways till the late 19th century. Refusal to recognise or accredit expatriation became a serious concern for the U.S. having a large population of immigrants who were sometimes bound by the foreign citizenship laws that limit them from visiting their home countries. As a result, the U.S. government passed the Expatriation Act of 1868 along with various treaties that officially recognised the right to deny one’s citizenship.
The Modern Law
Citizenship renunciation is usually relevant in cases of dual or multiple nationalities except that the additional citizenships are automatically bestowed through birth or ancestry. Most counties have realistic policies that identified the random nature of citizenship system, claims and pessimistic implications such as losing security clearance.
There’re individuals who deliberately renounce their citizenship simply to avoid participating in military services while others like to remain free even with theoretical obligations and rights of dual nationality.
Even such countries that allow multiple nationalities, electoral laws prohibit politicians from holding any allegiance to any foreign country. This ensures that even if a politician violates any laws, he’s subjected to renounce the citizenship.
Renunciation Laws in different Countries
Every country has its own laws and policies to grant or renounce citizenship. A common concern that individuals are haunt with is of a person becoming entirely stateless however most countries do grant another citizenship before revoking the present one. Some nations don’t allow or recognise citizenship renunciation due to comprehensive set of procedure that takes ample time to complete. Let’s take an example of Mexico that requires renunciation of all other citizenships after successful naturalisation.
Denial of citizenship is most up-front especially in countries that strictly follow the rule of single citizenship. Voluntary naturalisation in another country is thought of as “giving up” previous citizenship or implied rejection. For practical reasons, this automatic denial couldn’t officially take place unless the authorities of the original country are informed about naturalisation. While in Japan, a formal report clearly stating about the renunciation of citizenship must be submitted at the Japanese embassy. Applications must be submitted in countries with a waiting time of several months prior to approval.
Conclusion
The denial of nationality only takes place if it’s backed by a valid reason. Once renounced, the concerned individual wouldn’t be granted another chance of application. Lest there’s some element of uncertainty while choosing reliable territories, consider Grenada citizenship that comes with lots of added benefits such as visa-free travel to several countries, tax-free living and a splendid opportunity to be surrounded by nature at its best.
The blog post is written on behalf of Elevay Citizenship Grenada.