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Duel citizenship is a complicated issue. In the U.S., new citizens must relinquish their previous national standing unless that country permits dual citizenship; a person with two citizenships may not be granted security clearance, and a person who acquires foreign citizenship by voluntarily applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country.
IMO people who move to the US, or out of it, for business or marriage should not have to give up the passport of their birth country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozark-Baby
That is not completely true of course. Michael Chertoff has dual citizenship with Israel. There have been a number of people who hold dual citizenships and have received, and still receive, security clearances. Look at Bill Richardson, who was running for President. He has dual citizenship. As I said, there are lots of people who have have dual citizenships and they get security clearnaces with no problem at all.
Israel has always been an exception. As I said above, it all depends on the countrie's law that you emmigrate from. As the UK permits dual citizenship, I could keep my passport and claim an American one if I moved there with my American wife. There are countries that do not permit it, such as Singapore. Whilst US law prohibits the government from stripping any American of their citizenship (unless the person does it voluntarily) they can still revoke a US passport if they determine that merely accepting another citizenship is 'in itself an act to give up American citizenship'.. or accepting citizenship in a country who's laws conflict with the US... this is the grey area where problems can arise, and an issue my wife is paranoid about should she apply for a British passport.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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It is not really up to the USA if a citizen has dual citizenship or not. It is up to the other country that the US citizen is from. If that country still recognizes that person as a citizen then they are still a citizen. Some countries are more lenient than others are. For example you can become a duo facto citizen of some countries such as Jamaica just by marriage to a Jamaican citizen without ever setting foot there (although you have to register as a Jamaican citizen if you desire a Jamaican passport). That would make you, in effect, a dual citizen. Other countries such as Canada require that you live there and apply to be a citizen if you marry a Canadian but once you are a Canadian you would also be a dual citizen. We cannot tell another country "this person is a US citizen now and we demand that you revoke his citizenship". Each country sets their own rules for citizenship.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,774,755 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozark-Baby
That is not completely true of course. Michael Chertoff has dual citizenship with Israel. There have been a number of people who hold dual citizenships and have received, and still receive, security clearances. Look at Bill Richardson, who was running for President. He has dual citizenship. As I said, there are lots of people who have have dual citizenships and they get security clearnaces with no problem at all.
Israel is another example. EVERY Jew in the world is in fact a "citizen" of Israel because that is Israeli law. Whether a jew actually ever goes to Israel or applies for an Israeli passport is beside the point. If you are a Jew, you considered to be a citizen of Israel regardless of where you are born or where you live in the world.
Israel has always been an exception. As I said above, it all depends on the countrie's law that you emmigrate from. As the UK permits dual citizenship, I could keep my passport and claim an American one if I moved there with my American wife. There are countries that do not permit it, such as Singapore. Whilst US law prohibits the government from stripping any American of their citizenship (unless the person does it voluntarily) they can still revoke a US passport if they determine that merely accepting another citizenship is 'in itself an act to give up American citizenship'.. or accepting citizenship in a country who's laws conflict with the US... this is the grey area where problems can arise, and an issue my wife is paranoid about should she apply for a British passport.
And Israel being the exception has been some of our problems here. They are not the friends that so many think they are.
Most dual-citizens are just opportunists. They'll take what they can take from both countries.
People from Greece told me they are careful not to have dual-citizenship because it passes down to their children who can then be obligated to give military service and can be drafted even just visiting.
When military service or paying taxes or having some other kind of responsibility to that country are part of the deal -- it's interesting how quickly the "dual-patriotism" is dropped.
It's not about being an opportunist, at least not for me. You have followed all the rules and you're have earned the right to citizenship in both countries. If you merely become a dual citizen just because it makes things a little bit easier, I would tend to agree with you, but to me it's important to have a say (be able to vote) in both countries. I have served in the US military, so I guess I'm one of the so called few that haven't dropped my "dual-patriotism."
We are not necessarily going to know if they are dual citizens because we assume they are not (when they take the oath). If they are, and that comes out at some point, yes, they could choose to be loyal to their "old" country.
Mexico wants to send their illegals up here, and wants us to make them legal, and become dual citizens. But, we ain't buying. They obviously would not be loyal to the U.S., and Lord knows WHY our government wants to make them legal!!
This makes no sense, of course we would have to assume they are dual citizens at that point since most people would be citizen of some country and we know which countries allow dual citizenship (most) and which ones don't.
It's not about being an opportunist, at least not for me. You have followed all the rules and you're have earned the right to citizenship in both countries. If you merely become a dual citizen just because it makes things a little bit easier, I would tend to agree with you, but to me it's important to have a say (be able to vote) in both countries. I have served in the US military, so I guess I'm one of the so called few that haven't dropped my "dual-patriotism."
If one had the supposed loyalty of this country by becoming a citizen then one should not care about voting in another country. That is what does not make sense to someone who does have loyalty to this country.
If one had the supposed loyalty of this country by becoming a citizen then one should not care about voting in another country. That is what does not make sense to someone who does have loyalty to this country.
I disagree, I have loyalty to both countries. I'm not particularly fond of someone questioning my loyalty, especially after having served here more than most people born here. I think it's narrow-minded that you shouldn't care about others - a trait that more often than not causes problems.
I am a US soldier in the reserves. I went to school at a university in Philadelphia. Following school i got a great job working for a financial inst. I me my girlfriend in the states as she was studying abroad. When she returned back to Germany we tried to do the long distance thing but didnt work. I just moved to Germany to give love a shot. I am also applying for my student visa so i can further my education as well at an International school here in Germany. Let's say we did get married while i was in Germany...Does this mean i then have dual citizenship? If so, i think in conditions like mine and similar dual citizenships are more than ok. Dual citizenship does not equal a loss in loyalty. I have fought for this country twice and consider myself a front line loyalist with an craving for new experiences and exploration of life. The word "loyal" should not restrict ones freedom.
Hi there.. Citizenship will only be given to you after 5 year's of living in Germany,married or not.You will also have to ask for citizenship youself,they (German Gov.)won't give it to you freely..
Then why don't you go live and pay your taxes in the country you obviously love more?
Thank you for your unbiased vitriol, considering that you don't know the circumstances of my attempt to try to emigrate to Australia.
If your children lived in another country, and your grandchildren were going to be born and raised there, would you stay all alone in another country, even if it were the country of your birth? Please think before you criticize next time.
If I didn't love my birth country, I wouldn't care about giving up citizenship. I want to keep it because it matters to me.
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citizenship
