Obtaining second citizenship in Ukraine

Obtaining second citizenship has become popular in recent years. This is due to the fact that dual citizenship gives a number of significant advantages.

Positive sides of obtaining the second citizenship

• possibility of traveling freely without the need for visas (dual citizenship in European states allows you to move around the Schengen area in a visa-free regime; obtaining second citizenship of Spain allows you visiting the US without a visa);
• obtaining second citizenship is a legitimate opportunity for doing business abroad (dual citizenship simplifies greatly employment, allowing you to choose the country in which you will work and pay taxes);
• social protection (dual citizenship will allow you, for example, to work in a country with more favorable conditions, and to move to another country to retirement, while obtaining dual citizenship guarantees all the privileges given to the citizens of both countries).

The benefits of obtaining second citizenship can be told for a very long time. But obtaining dual citizenship is getting harder every year. Some countries are loyal to people with several nationalities, others are fierce opponents. The number of adversaries also includes Ukraine - the legislation states that obtaining the second citizenship means automatic cancellation of the first one, Ukrainian. At the same time, there are quite legitimate ways of obtaining dual citizenship. International normative legal acts state that no one can be forcibly deprived of citizenship. That is, the receipt of the second citizenship should not lead to the loss of the first one. One of the “loopholes” in obtaining second citizenship is the following: most states do not provide information on the acquisition of second citizenship by citizens of other countries. You must notify yourself the necessary authorities about the receipt of the second citizenship, but by law, you are not required to do so.

Differences between the concepts of “second citizenship” and “dual citizenship”

Obtaining the second citizenship is an opportunity to be subjects of two different states at different times. Dual citizenship implies the acquisition of rights and responsibilities by citizens of the two states. At the same time, dual citizenship is possible only in those countries, which have concluded agreements on the regulation of the rights and obligations of persons having dual citizenship. At the moment, it is difficult and expensive for citizens of Ukraine to receive both the second and dual citizenship. At the same time, the problem of the availability of dual citizenship is reviving quite often in recent years, but it still has no solution.

Dual citizenship and legislation of Ukraine

The Ukrainian authorities took active part in the issue of dual citizenship in 2008. In 2009, a bill was adopted that criminalized dual citizenship. In 2010, the controversy about the need for dual citizenship broke out again: it turned out that a significant part of the officers of the Black Sea Fleet were citizens of Ukraine. In any case, many are aware of the privileges that dual citizenship gives. At the same time, our country is against obtaining the second citizenship, but the legislation still has not regulated the responsibility that a citizen will incur for the availability of two or more passports. Conclusion: dual citizenship is simply not provided for by our legislation. At the same time, it is possible to obtain second citizenship due to insufficient legislative regulation and such a person can not be brought to justice.

Corporate Legislation of Ukraine