3 ms·

I don't think you generally need to renounce one citizenship for another - I have dual citizenship, for example, and it's never caused anyone a problem.

embolism 13y ago
It depends on the rules of both countries.
dfc 13y ago
This is certainly not a general situation. I thought that this is one of those situations that would mean a loss of citizenship but after reading some more I am utterly confused about the specific situation and dual-citizenship in general. Dual citizenship:: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html Advice about possible loss of dual citizenship: http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html WP's take: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law
- nknighthb 13y ago
  It's actually not confusing, you just have to ignore the statutes and State Department, because they don't control. Case law does. The Supreme Court made a constitutional ruling (meaning it can't be overturned except by constitutional amendment; Congress and the Executive are powerless to change it themselves) in 1967 that US citizenship cannot be lost involuntarily. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2521246303796542623&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2521246303796542... "The very nature of our free government makes it completely incongruous to have a rule of law under which a group of citizens temporarily in office can deprive another group of citizens of their citizenship. We hold that the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to, and does, protect every citizen of this Nation against a congressional forcible destruction of his citizenship, whatever his creed, color, or race. Our holding does no more than to give to this citizen that which is his own, a constitutional right to remain a citizen in a free country unless he voluntarily relinquishes that citizenship."
  - triplesec 13y ago
    Great info, thanks! Are you a lawyer? ...and furthermore, a passport is not required for travel: this is merely an international convention and can be waived and changed at any time.
    - nknighthb 13y ago
      No. At some point around 99/2000 I read Harry Blackmun's dissent in Callins and started on a path to a sophisticated layman's understanding of various areas of law through self-study, particularly constitutional issues. Law school has always been a someday-maybe, but the more I see how it turns so many people into inhumane robots obsessed with the letter of the law instead of its spirit, the less motivated I am.
      - dragonwriter 13y ago
        > Law school has always been a someday-maybe, but the more I see how it turns so many people into inhumane robots obsessed with the letter of the law instead of its spirit, the less motivated I am. I don't think law school does that to people, I think that people that are oriented that way are a significant subset of the people attracted to law school.
        nknighthb 13y ago
        I guess that's a reasonable hypothesis. Still not a thrilling prospect to put myself at such people's mercy for three years, of course. (The practical rewards for me are limited, there's virtually no chance I would actively practice even if I graduated and passed the bar.)
marcuspovey 13y ago
It is entirely up to a country whether they recognise you as a citizen or not and there's no international limit on them. You could, depending on the country, collect as many as you want.

embolism 13y ago

It depends on the rules of both countries.

dfc 13y ago

This is certainly not a general situation. I thought that this is one of those situations that would mean a loss of citizenship but after reading some more I am utterly confused about the specific situation and dual-citizenship in general. Dual citizenship:: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html Advice about possible loss of dual citizenship: http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html WP's take: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law

nknighthb 13y ago
It's actually not confusing, you just have to ignore the statutes and State Department, because they don't control. Case law does. The Supreme Court made a constitutional ruling (meaning it can't be overturned except by constitutional amendment; Congress and the Executive are powerless to change it themselves) in 1967 that US citizenship cannot be lost involuntarily. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2521246303796542623&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2521246303796542... "The very nature of our free government makes it completely incongruous to have a rule of law under which a group of citizens temporarily in office can deprive another group of citizens of their citizenship. We hold that the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to, and does, protect every citizen of this Nation against a congressional forcible destruction of his citizenship, whatever his creed, color, or race. Our holding does no more than to give to this citizen that which is his own, a constitutional right to remain a citizen in a free country unless he voluntarily relinquishes that citizenship."
- triplesec 13y ago
  Great info, thanks! Are you a lawyer? ...and furthermore, a passport is not required for travel: this is merely an international convention and can be waived and changed at any time.
  - nknighthb 13y ago
    No. At some point around 99/2000 I read Harry Blackmun's dissent in Callins and started on a path to a sophisticated layman's understanding of various areas of law through self-study, particularly constitutional issues. Law school has always been a someday-maybe, but the more I see how it turns so many people into inhumane robots obsessed with the letter of the law instead of its spirit, the less motivated I am.
    - dragonwriter 13y ago
      > Law school has always been a someday-maybe, but the more I see how it turns so many people into inhumane robots obsessed with the letter of the law instead of its spirit, the less motivated I am. I don't think law school does that to people, I think that people that are oriented that way are a significant subset of the people attracted to law school.
      - nknighthb 13y ago
        I guess that's a reasonable hypothesis. Still not a thrilling prospect to put myself at such people's mercy for three years, of course. (The practical rewards for me are limited, there's virtually no chance I would actively practice even if I graduated and passed the bar.)

marcuspovey 13y ago

It is entirely up to a country whether they recognise you as a citizen or not and there's no international limit on them. You could, depending on the country, collect as many as you want.