When and how can Ukraine regulate the issue of dual citizenship?

As things stand, several hundred thousand or even millions of Ukrainians may have a passport from another country in addition to their Ukrainian one. This fact is of little interest to anyone unless it concerns politicians or public figures.

There are several bills currently under consideration in parliament that would regulate this issue. However, after the full-scale invasion, the topic of dual/multiple citizenship was swept under the rug.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brought it out during his press conference, saying that the introduction of multiple citizenship in Ukraine would help to partially resolve the issue of Ukrainian citizens who went abroad and found a new life there.

"There are 60 million Ukrainians in the world. Not all of them need to live in Ukraine [...] Giving them the opportunity to support Ukraine, to feel that they are Ukrainians, to open businesses here, to pay taxes – all this is to Ukraine's advantage. So that people abroad who have found a new life there do not rush to give up their Ukrainian citizenship. I think we should not lose such people," he stressed.

hromadske examines whether parliament will review draft laws on dual citizenship and when Ukrainians may be permitted to hold multiple passports.

Is dual citizenship prohibited?

"There is single citizenship in Ukraine". These are the words from Article 4 of the Constitution of Ukraine. This is usually perceived as a ban on dual/multiple citizenship. In fact, this provision does not contain a direct prohibition.

The "Law on Citizenship" states that in Ukraine "there is no citizenship of administrative-territorial units" (i.e., one cannot have separate citizenship of a region or a certain city), but instead there is only one – Ukrainian.

However, even if a person has another passport in addition to the Ukrainian one, he or she remains a citizen of Ukraine. If the state finds out about another citizenship, Ukrainian citizenship can be revoked (Article 19 of the “Law on Citizenship”). But such cases, according to Vasyl Cherednichenko, a lawyer and migration law expert, are not common.

Who is blocking the "law on passports"

The topic of multiple citizenship was last publicly raised in October by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, when he addressed the Ukrainian World Congress and assured that it should become an element of state policy, as it would help preserve and develop the global Ukrainian community. Before that, in 2021, the Servant of the People faction proposed a legislative initiative that would have given Ukrainians the right to obtain additional citizenship without losing their existing one, and vice versa.

Back in 2019, during his inaugural speech, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the introduction of dual citizenship, primarily for members of the Ukrainian diaspora. Later, the president even proposed his own bill.

But the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada opposed it. They said the documents were "unconstitutional."

"These two examples are enough to understand that any attempts to legalize dual/multiple citizenship by preparing separate laws are doomed to failure, because the Main Department will block them again and again," suggests Natalia Belitser, an expert at the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy.

According to two sources in the Servant of the People party, the last time the mono-majority MPs consulted on multiple citizenship was in early 2022.

"When we were just starting out, in 2019, there was some discussion [on multiple citizenship] within the faction, and it was quite controversial. There was no single position. Because perhaps some still have vestiges of the Soviet past, that if a person has citizenship of another country, such as Israel, then he or she is a traitor to the homeland," said one of the interlocutors.

But the head of the presidential faction, David Arakhamia, is more confident in the unity of the "servants." He told hromadske: "We will support [the introduction of multiple citizenship], of course. This is our party promise."

FM Kuleba got the ball rolling

According to Kuleba, "we should be guided not by the fear of handing out other people's passports in Ukraine, but by the power of the Ukrainian passport in Ukraine and in the world."

The foreign minister's idea is that the state should open up the possibility for millions of Ukrainians abroad (except for Russia) to keep their Ukrainian passports or get them, and accept that after joining the European Union, Ukrainian passports will have the same status as those of neighboring European countries.

Should it be postponed until victory?

All the bills concerning dual/multiple citizenship were registered in the parliament before the full-scale invasion.

"From my point of view, everything needs to be adopted in a timely manner," Oleh Dunda, a member of the Servant of the People party and one of the initiators of draft law No. 4640 on multiple citizenship, told hromadske. According to him, this issue should have been resolved in 2021 at the latest.

"It is extremely inappropriate to adopt these bills until the war is over. We should wait until the war is over and we win, and then regulate this legislation," the lawmaker argued.

Dunda believes that if the parliament takes up the bill now, Russia could take advantage of it. He said it would start to peddle the idea that Ukrainians are being given a tool to travel abroad.

Another representative of the mono-majority, who wished to remain anonymous, agrees with Kuleba: given the large Ukrainian diaspora in the world, it would be politically expedient "not to create additional obstacles for these people who already have or will have another citizenship." The parliamentarian told hromadske that Ukraine is "not in the demographic position to squander its citizens."

"On the contrary, this can be used in our interests. If a Ukrainian lives in France and has French citizenship, his or her children will have a connection with Ukraine, both politically and emotionally, and will help as much as possible," the legislator added.

This topic divides not only politicians but also experts. According to lawyer Vasyl Cherednichenko, multiple citizenship should be introduced as soon as possible, as soon as it becomes clear whether the Constitution needs to be changed.

Instead, Anna Daniel, a PhD in law, told hromadske that this is a "complex issue" that "should be approached in a balanced manner, taking into account Ukraine's obligations under international law."

The expert says that there are obvious benefits of introducing multiple citizenship: development of tourism, lifting of visa restrictions, the ability to legally get rid of the status of a military conscript at home, business and investment opportunities, and avoidance of legal liability for offenses.

However, Anna Daniel also notes that threats to national security should be assessed: military service and payment of taxes to the budget will be in question, as a large part of the Ukrainian population may become citizens of foreign countries.

The issue of multiple citizenship may be moved forward by the decision of the Constitutional Court. The court's press service told hromadske that two hearings have already taken place in this case. No decision was made, so the proceedings will continue.