Reactions in Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Serbia to Hungary’s decision to give access to citizenship to ethnic Hungarians

Posted onMay 23, 2010December 12, 2017

Reactions in Ukraine

By EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Oxana Shevel

12 July 2010

Unlike in neighbouring Slovakia where the May 26 amendment to the law on Hungarian citizenship that granted persons of Hungarian ancestry residing abroad the right to Hungarian citizenship led to a domestic outcry, in Ukraine there has not been any official reaction so far. According to the 2001 census, Hungarians are the 7th largest ethnic group in Ukraine, numbering 156,600. They are concentrated in the Zakarpattia oblast (region) in the south-west corner of the country where they constitute the second largest ethnic group (after Ukrainians), numbering 151,500, or 12 percent of the region’s population. Given that within the region the Hungarians are further concentrated in the districts along the Hungarian border, and that today’s Zakarpattia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary and became part of the Soviet Ukraine only in 1945, one can expect Ukraine to be as sensitive as Slovakia and Romania to the dangers of Hungarian irredentism that some suspect lurking behind the new Hungarian law. The Hungarian law also relates to Ukraine’s long-standing concerns about, and opposition to, the principle of dual citizenship. This opposition stems first and foremost from the Ukrainian elites’ fears that dual citizenship with Russia can endanger Ukraine’s sovereignty and potentially even territorial integrity, given that Ukraine’s ethnic Russians are concentrated in Ukraine’s regions bordering Russia, especially in Crimea where they constitute the majority. Even though there is no dual citizenship agreement between Russia and Ukraine and Ukrainian legislation does not recognize dual citizenship, Russia has been issuing Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens since the 1990s. According to some estimates, as many as 100,000 people in Crimea now hold both Ukrainian and Russian passports.

Belgium: Bill to tighten access to naturalisation

Posted onApril 30, 2010December 12, 2017

Shortly before resigning, the Belgian government led by prime minister Yves Leterme adopted a bill reforming acquisition of Belgian citizenship. This reform had been on the coalition government’s agenda since July 2009. The fall of the government means that the future of the bill is uncertain. It has not yet been published in the official bulletin Moniteur Belge. The following text reprinted from Migration News Sheet May 2010 summarises the content of the intended reform.

[MNS 05/2010] On 9 April 2010, the Federal Government adopted a Bill aimed at tightening the conditions of access to Belgium citizenship.

Under the terms of the Bill, only foreigners holding a residence permit of unlimited duration are entitled to apply for Belgian citizenship.

France: new rules for proving nationality when applying for renewal of passports and ID cards

Posted onMarch 15, 2010July 28, 2017

by EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Christophe Bertossi

French nationals applying for a new passport or identity card will now be able to provide former French passports and identity cards as a sufficient proof of French nationality instead of a French nationality certificate. The new rules came into force on March 1, 2010, following a joint decree of the French Ministry of Interior and of Foreign Affairs.

Greece: comprehensive citizenship reform passed in parliament on 11 March. Read a summary by EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Dimitris Christopoulos

Posted onMarch 13, 2010July 28, 2017

by Dimitris Christopoulos

On 11 March the Greek Parliament approved a bill proposed by the Greek government that comprehensively reforms Greek citizenship law. The law will come into force upon publication in the Official Gazette. The main points of this important reform are:

1.Double ius soli. Automatic acquisition of Greek citizenship if one of the parents is born and permanently resides in the country (Article 1, par. 2, al.a).

Germany: denial of naturalisation on grounds of ideological orientation

Posted onMarch 10, 2010December 12, 2017

By EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Anuscheh Farahat

A member of the German Left Party (Die Linke) has recently been denied naturalisation due to her membership in this left-wing party. Jannine Menger-Hamilton is Member of the regional parliament (Landtag) of Schleswig-Holstein functioning as spokesperson of the parliamentary group of her party. Mrs. Menger-Hamilton has been born in Germany; her mother is an Italian national, her father a British national.

ECJ judgment in the Rottmann case: member states can withdraw nationality acquired by fraud if the principle of proportionality is observed

Posted onMarch 2, 2010July 28, 2017

The European Court of Justice issued its judgment in the case Janko Rottmann v Freistaat of Bayern Case C-135/08 on 2 March 2010. The judgement confirms that a Member State of the European Union may withdraw its nationality, granted by Read More …

Malta: Most acquisitions of Maltese citizenship by naturalisation occur through ties of marriage or parentage

Posted onFebruary 26, 2010July 28, 2017

By EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Eugene Buttigieg

Among those who acquire citizenship by naturalisation, only a minority do so without any ties of marriage or parentage, according to statistics by the Maltese Parliament.

According to an article by the local newspaper Malta Today on Sunday, “few people get citizenship in Malta unless they marry a Maltese or have a Maltese parent’. Over 2,000 of the 2,817 new Maltese citizens in the last four years became Maltese citizens either by marriage or from birth to a Maltese parent.

Statistics show that since 2004, over 1,000 men and women married foreigners, who after five years of marriage became Maltese citizens. Foreign wives who gained citizenship mainly hailed from Britain (157), Australia (83), and Russia (55). Husbands mainly were of British (107), Australian (78), but also Italian (56) and Libyan origin (49). ‘The statistics presented in Parliament show that there is a significant gender imbalance in the acquisition of a Maltese citizenship. For example, just one of 16 Nigerians granted Maltese citizenship was a woman.

Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina sign agreement to prevent abuse of dual citizenship

Posted onFebruary 23, 2010December 12, 2017

By EUDO CITIZENSHIP/CITSEE expert Ljubica Spaskovska On 10 February 2010 the Ministers of Justice of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina signed an agreement to prevent the abuse of dual citizenship in extradition processes of convicted criminals. The decision, amending an agreement signed Read More …

Austria changes its Nationality Law

Posted onFebruary 12, 2010July 28, 2017

by EUDO CITIZENSHIP Expert Dilek Çinar

In October 2009, the Austrian Parliament approved a bill amending the Asylum Law, the Aliens’ Police Law, the Settlement Law as well as the Nationality Law. The new regulations have entered into force on January 1, 2010. The most significant changes are as follows:

• Requirement of sufficient income: Acquisition of Austrian nationality depends on proof of regular and sufficient income. In addition, applicants must not have received social welfare assistance for the last three years preceding the application for naturalisation. Since 2010, regular expenditures for rent, loan repayment, garnishment or alimony payment have to be taken into account when calculating an applicant’s income level. Thus, the amendment raises the level of disposable personal income necessary for naturalisation.

Germany signs convention on statelessness

Posted onFebruary 9, 2010July 28, 2017

On December 16, 2009, Germany signed the Council of Europe Convention on the avoidance of statelessness in relation to State succession (CETS No.: 200). Germany is the 7th State to sign the Convention. Being ratified by only three member States, Read More …

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Reactions in Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Serbia to Hungary’s decision to give access to citizenship to ethnic Hungarians