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Tales of changing citizenship: what applicants told me about the process of making Britain their home

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People who successfully apply for British citizenship are seldom asked to recount their stories. They simply carry on with their lives. But how does it really feel to go through the process of becoming a British citizen? What does achieving citizenship mean to those who gain it? How does it affect their sense of identity and belonging? To answer these questions for my new book, Britishness, Belonging and Citizenship I spoke to 30 successful applicants about their experiences. Read More …

“Votes for Life” Bill passes second reading in the UK House of Commons

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On 23 February 2018, the Overseas Electoral Bill (the Bill’), which abolishes a 15 year limit to the franchise for non-resident citizens, passed second reading with a clear majority in the UK House of Commons and will now proceed for scrutiny by a Public Bill Committee. It was presented as a private member’s bill by Glyn Davies MP (Conservative) and sponsored, inter alia, by Mike Gapes MP (Labour) and Layla Moran MP (Liberal Democrats). Read More …

The curious case of Hungary: why the naturalisation rate does not always show how inclusive a country is

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The ‘naturalisation rate’ is a commonly used indicator to measure the ratio of the number of persons acquiring citizenship of a country over the stock of non-national population in a country; as such, it is often used to measure the relative inclusiveness of a country’s naturalisation policy. According to Eurostat statistics, in Hungary the average naturalisation rates in the period 2011-15 was 7.8 percent, one of the highest rates reported in the European Union. Read More …

De jure and de facto tolerance of dual citizenship in Japan: lessons from the Renho controversy

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The public understanding is that dual citizenship is not allowed in Japan: The reality is that dual citizenship (nijyu kokuseki) it is tolerated in some cases and forbidden in other cases which leads to the interpretation that it is neither allowed nor forbidden in current Japanese Nationality Law. The question of dual citizenship becomes a critical one for those in positions and occupations for which the Japanese law explicitly states a Japanese citizenship requirement. Read More …

When the right to vote and the right to run for political office do not coincide

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Ignazio Cassis’ renunciation of his Italian citizenship has re-launched the debate on the meaning of political rights – and, in particular, the right to run for political office – in Switzerland. According to Cassis, his decision was necessary – politically, although not legally – in order to be elected to the Federal Council. At the same time, Cassis did not see dual citizenship as an obstacle to vote or to run as a candidate to the Federal Parliament. This episode shows that the right to vote and the right to run for political office are not necessarily aligned.  Read More …

Can Elected Politicians Have Two Passports?

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On Wednesday, 1 November, Ignazio Cassis formally replaces outgoing federal councilor Didier Burkhalter as the seventh member of the Federal Council of Switzerland. Born to Italian parents in the Swiss canton of Ticino, Cassis gave up his Italian citizenship just weeks before being elected. His decision sparked a heated debate on whether elected politicians should surrender their foreign passports and renounce their dual citizenship, once elected to a post. In Switzerland, there is no legal obligation to do so.  Read More …

Form over substance? Foreign citizenship and the Australian Parliament

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As foreshadowed in our earlier post, the High Court of Australia has now delivered its judgment in a case concerning the eligibility of dual nationals to serve in the Australian parliament. At issue was section 44(i) of Australia’s Constitution which renders ineligible any person who (in addition to being an Australian citizen) is a citizen of a ‘foreign power’. Seven federal parliamentarians faced the Court. Some of them denied that they were foreign citizens and some conceded that they were; most had acquired their non-Australian citizenship Read More …

In Defence of National Identity: The Dual Citizenship Debates in Singapore

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As reported by Singapore media (Straits Times) on 8 October 2017, the country celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore citizenship through the 1957 Singapore Citizenship Ordinance. The ordinance was significant because it laid the foundation of the single citizenship regime in the country, which has remained in force in contemporary Singapore. Since the end of the 1990s, the single citizenship principle has been widely debated due to increased pressure from both immigrant and emigrant communities. Read More …

Review of K. Rubenstein, Australian Citizenship Law, Lawbook Company of Australia/Thomson Reuters, Sydney, 2017 (2nd edition).

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The story of the Australian citizenship regime – told fully and eloquently in the second edition of Kim Rubenstein’s book Australian Citizenship Law – offers an intriguing insight into how citizenship regimes emerge and evolve in the case of new states, and then reach maturity over decades of intense contestation between different political and legal actors across a federal state.

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