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The Brexit Naturalisation Effect: An Update Eight Years After the Referendum

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The increased number of British nationals acquiring citizenship elsewhere in Europe in the wake of the Brexit referendum has been widely reported. New data from Eurostat, combined with statistical analysis, inform us that over 90 thousand British citizens have acquired a European passport, eight years after the 2016 referendum, who likely would not have done so had it not been for Brexit. These numbers are in addition to the around 120 thousand British nationals who are reported to have acquired Irish citizenship as a child or grandchild of Irish citizens. Read More …

‘Passportisation’: ECtHR finds imposition of Russian citizenship in Crimea a breach of article 8 ECHR

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The term ‘passportisation’ refers to the practice of extending nationality to substantial numbers of individuals beyond the boundary of the state, including by forcible imposition of nationality.  At an international level, two effects – each potentially an aim of value to the state extending its nationality –  are the erosion of the territorial sovereignty of the state of residence by the new ability of the state of nationality to intervene to protect those possessing its nationality, conformably with article 51 of the UN Charter, and reduced scope for the individual to seek international protection as against a state of his or her nationality.  In the post-Soviet period passportisation been much practised by the Russian Federation, in Georgia, Ukraine, and elsewhere.  On 18 June 2024 Dr Gaiane Nuridzhanian provided a helpful account of recent decisions touching on it, including in the context of human rights.  Since then the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has decided an interstate case concerning Russian activities concerning Crimea, Ukraine v Russia (Re Crimea) appns 20958/14 and 38334/18) [2024] ECHR 569, which within its wider decision sets out significant findings regarding passportisation. Read More …

Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Chicanery

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Among his first actions as re-installed president, Donald Trump issued a January 20 executive order purporting to roll back territorial birthright citizenship in the United States. Under the order, US citizenship would extend at birth only to children who have at least one citizen or permanent resident parent. Children born to unauthorised immigrants and temporary visa holders would be denied birth citizenship. Read More …

Sweden: stricter requirements for citizenship acquisition by young people and stronger protection against involuntary renunciation

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Since the refugee reception crisis of 2015, a host of restrictive changes to the Swedish Law on Citizenship (2001:82) have been announced by the current and previous governments. On October 1st, the first of these changes came into effect (SFS 2024:423). The amendment consists of one change to the terms of citizenship acquisition through declaration for long-term residents under the age of 21 and one change to the conditions of citizenship renunciation for people in vulnerable positions. In this short blog post, I first describe these changes and explain their immediate implications, and secondly, discuss their meaning against the backdrop of recent political developments in Sweden. Read More …

Italy’s new surrogacy law could leave children at the risk of statelessness

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On 16 October 2024, Italy passed a law that would make it illegal for couples to go abroad to have a baby through an international surrogacy arrangement. The law, approved by the senate with 84 votes in favour and 58 against, would make surrogacy a “universal crime” and could fine couples up to one million euros and a two-year jail sentence. Italian lawmakers have claimed that the law is not intended to harm children but to penalise parents who have engaged in this activity. Yet, since the practice of surrogacy became illegal domestically in 2004, couples have faced an increasing number of challenges when attempting to register their children at local municipalities – affecting these children’s ability to acquire Italian citizenship. Read More …

Fearing the immigrant vote? AKP’s political echo sparks controversy in Germany

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A new political party in Germany set up by supporters of Turkish president Erdoǧan has been met with a political backlash, though similar parties in Germany were previously unsuccessful. In this blog, we discuss the motivations and candidates of this party, parallels with parties in other EU countries, and its prospects in German politics in connection with a recent citizenship reform.

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