Ukraine alows multiple citizenship amid war-driven migration

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed in final reading a landmark bill reforming the country’s citizenship laws. The new legislation formally introduces the possibility of multiple citizenship – a significant shift in a country long debating the topic.

The bill received 243 votes in favor in the 450-seat assembly and includes a series of amendments aimed at modernizing Ukraine’s approach to citizenship. Among the new provisions are mandatory citizenship exams covering the Constitution, Ukrainian history, and language, designed to strengthen national identity.

Previously, Ukrainian law did not recognise dual or multiple citizenship, meaning that ethnic Ukrainians living outside the country and holding other passports had to renounce their other citizenship if they wanted a Ukrainian passport.

The new legislation creates conditions for Ukrainians displaced by the ongoing Russian aggression to retain their citizenship, though concrete mechanisms for return remain unspecified. It also broadens eligibility for citizenship to select categories of foreigners and stateless persons serving in Ukraine’s armed forces and other military units. It also explicitly regulates cases of multiple citizenship and clarifies grounds for loss of Ukrainian citizenship.

The idea of recognising multiple citizenship had been discussed well before Russia’s full-scale invasion but gained urgency as millions of Ukrainians were forced abroad. Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized in 2023 that embracing multiple citizenship is essential for sustaining and growing the global Ukrainian diaspora.

Demographic decline

Government officials estimate Ukraine’s diaspora at some 25 million people. They put the current population in Ukraine at 32 million, down sharply from 52 million in 1991 when Ukraine became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The issue of multiple citizenship has become even more pressing since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, exacerbating a demographic decline that had started years before.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first submitted the bill early in 2024, fulfilling a campaign promise from his presidential run. This is the fourth iteration of such legislation; previous attempts in 2019 and 2021 faced opposition and ultimately stalled amid quality concerns and political resistance.

Ukraine’s debate mirrors a broader European evolution. For much of the 20th century, multiple citizenship was seen as a legal and security problem. The 1963 Strasbourg Convention, signed under the Council of Europe’s auspices, mandated states to penalize citizens who acquired another nationality voluntarily, rooted in concerns about military service obligations and political loyalty during the Cold War.

However, exceptions existed. Countries like the UK and Ireland ratified the convention only partially, while Turkey and Greece did not sign it at all, reflecting regional complexities.

As European integration deepened, borders opened, and military conscription faded, hardline bans on multiple citizenship became outdated. In 1993, the convention was amended to allow numerous exceptions, and over the following decades many Central and Eastern European countries distanced themselves from the treaty altogether.

Today, most European states permit multiple citizenship, with notable holdouts including Austria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Slovakia, all maintaining various legal restrictions and penalties, though enforcement is often uneven.

Lithuania has a constitutional ban on multiple citizenship, changeable only by referendum – attempts in 2019 and 2024 failed due to turnout requirements. Slovakia enforces strict rules especially against ethnic Slovaks acquiring Hungarian citizenship amid fears of foreign influence. Loss of Slovak citizenship can follow, though the ban mostly affects those born Slovak citizens; foreigners seeking naturalization face fewer constraints. Germany is on track to overhaul its citizenship laws, lifting many existing restrictions on dual citizenship. Countries like Croatia, Estonia, and Spain require renunciation of prior citizenship except under specific conditions. Latvia has softened its stance since 2013, easing restrictions significantly.

The trend in Europe clearly leans toward normalising and accepting multiple citizenships, reflecting contemporary realities of mobility, mixed families, and diasporas. For Ukraine, given the scale of wartime displacement and the diaspora’s growth, arguments for reform are stronger than ever.

Caption: A handout picture made available by Ukraine`s Presidential Press Service shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) addressing lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, Kyiv, Ukraine, 16 October 2024