A view from the USA. Advantages and disadvantages of multiple citizenship
31 January 2024 13:18
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘s initiative to introduce multiple citizenship in Ukraine has sparked much debate. ” Voice of America spoke to the diaspora and lawyers and pointed out the benefits and pitfalls of the bill from the US perspective, reports 
Today, with more than four million Ukrainians having fled abroad due to the full-scale invasion, dual citizenship could be the key to their return, as well as to reuniting ethnic Ukrainians with their homeland.
President Zelenskyy ‘s proposal to legalise multiple citizenship reflects the current challenges and opportunities facing the country. Against the backdrop of a full-scale invasion and migration flows, this draft law aims to strengthen ties with the diaspora and to bring Ukrainians back to rebuild the country.
On the one hand, multiple citizenship can contribute to Ukraine’s economic and cultural enrichment by engaging Ukrainians abroad in the country’s reconstruction and development. It also allows Ukrainians abroad to maintain close ties with their homeland without giving up their new identity and opportunities in other countries.
On the other hand, there are certain risks and challenges associated with multiple citizenship.
What are the benefits of multiple citizenship?
The Ukrainian World Congress, which has been advocating for the legalisation of multiple citizenship in Ukraine for many years, welcomed this initiative.
Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Paul Grod said that this is an indicator that Ukraine is growing to the level of a Western democratic state. Currently, 130 countries recognise dual or multiple citizenship.
Grod is convinced that Ukraine needs multiple citizenship more than the global Ukrainian community, as it will encourage more ethnic Ukrainians to join the country’s rebuilding.
“Ukraine needs the brains and hands of Ukrainians abroad to win and rebuild the country, and this will ensure their full participation in the political, economic and social life of Ukraine,” he says,
– he says.
According to him, the legalisation of multiple citizenship will allow hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Ukrainians who already have multiple passports to leave the grey zone.
What are the risks of multiple citizenship?
Svitlana Ugryn, a Ukrainian lawyer based in Chicago, notes that citizenship is not only about rights but also about responsibilities.
“From the point of view of the US government, a citizen or even a Green Card holder must pay taxes to the US government, even if the person works for a Ukrainian company and pays taxes there. It’s the same with military service – now it’s not necessary to register for military service, but we don’t know what will happen in the future and how a person with dual citizenship will fulfil their duty to serve in the army in two countries,” she explains,
– she explains.
Another risk of dual citizenship for the state is the political rights of citizens.
“This is a signal of who Ukraine chooses to go forward with. Voting is potentially a determination of the country’s political course, so we need to be sure that these countries will always be friendly to Ukraine,”
– Uhryn says.
According to her, the “simplified list” of countries includes Hungary and Slovakia, whose position on Russian aggression already raises doubts about whether they can be long-term allies of Ukraine. The lawyer is concerned that a situation may arise in which the interests of the two governments contradict each other and a person with both passports may find themselves in an uncertain legal situation.
Currently, one of the biggest problems is the legal status of people who have ties to Ukraine but hold Russian and Belarusian passports. The lawyer explains that many patriotic people find themselves in a situation where their documents for legal stay are expiring, and the Ukrainian migration service is not considering their cases.
“There are many people living in Ukraine who have other passports, including Russian ones. There are many mixed families. This all needs to be put in a legal framework,”
– says the lawyer.
Currently, the draft law submitted by Zelenskyy to the Verkhovna Rada is marked as “urgent”. Now the parliamentary committees have to consider it, and the parliament has to vote on it. Details on the legal regime of dual citizenship are usually spelled out in separate international treaties between countries.
Read also:
Multiple citizenship: who will get it, who needs it and what are the disadvantages
