What kind of connection should form the basis of nationality? For decades, the ‘genuine link’ has been a central, yet controversial concept in international and European scholarship and practice. The controversy revolves around a simple question: does nationality require a certain degree of belonging? Or put differently, can there be such bonds without belonging? Recently, the debate has been rekindled by the Maltese practice of ‘golden passports’. This contribution traces the state of the debate, anchors the genuine link requirement in international and Union law, develops its contours and conditions, and discusses possible objections. We argue that the genuine link requirement is the result of an interplay of several sources: international law, the prohibition of abuse of law, and the constitutional principles of solidarity and democracy. Together, they form the basis for the genuine link in European Union law.

Luke Dimitrios Spieker and Ferdinand Weber, Bonds without belonging? The genuine link in international, union, and nationality law, Yearbook of European Law, 2025.