Multiple citizenship: why now and to whom? The associate of the president explains

Interestingly, almost simultaneously, the head of state signed a decree on territories historically inhabited by Ukrainians within the modern Krasnodar Territory, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov regions of the Russian Federation. It immediately caused hysteria among Russian propagandists and officials, who unexpectedly discovered that the game with “native territories” can be played by two people.

The fact that it exists in more than a hundred countries of the world, including very civilized ones, speaks in favor of multiple citizenship; the fact that it exists in more than one hundred countries of the world, including very civilized ones, speaks against it is the lack of clarity of the procedures by which this mechanism will operate during war. And Article 4 of the Constitution directly states: there is a single citizenship in Ukraine. However, lawyers interpret the term “single citizenship” differently, and the Constitutional Court, to which the relevant submission was sent, has not yet expressed its opinion on this matter.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy and interparliamentary cooperation, “servant of the people,” Oleksandr Merezhko, believes that if Ukraine has confidently taken the path to membership in the European Union, it should get used to the rules of the game there. And secondary citizenship is just inherent in EU countries. In a conversation with “Glavkom,” Merezhko tells what problems the presidential bill should solve, why it will not work to divide citizens by the method of obtaining a passport, and how to treat forced owners of Russian “Ausweis” ( identity cards issued by the occupiers ) in the occupied territories.

"We are facing a very serious demographic crisis"

Let's figure it out right away: who exactly does Ukraine want to fill the ranks of its citizens ?

If we go to Europe, then multiple citizenship is very common there, because it is convenient. And in Europe, a citizen is not only a citizen of his country, but also of the European Union. Here, the main obstacle to perception is the Soviet mentality, because in the past, having citizenship of another country was perceived as a betrayal of the Motherland. We need to get rid of this Soviet mentality psychologically.

For example, in the United States, policy towards a particular foreign country is very often formed under the influence of the local diaspora. For example, in the Irish diaspora there are many Americans for more than one generation, but they still feel like Irish. And US policy towards Ireland is connected with the opinion of the diaspora. If our diaspora, having both American and Ukrainian citizenship , will influence US foreign policy in a way that is beneficial to us, then this is also important.

 

In the past, having citizenship of another country was perceived as a betrayal of the Motherland. We need to get rid of this Sovietism

 

But there is a delicate point. The President is calling on Ukrainian citizens to return home from abroad during a difficult time for the country, and with this project he is actually giving them a signal - you can take citizenship of other states, the Motherland will still not forget you.

There is a psychological side to this: we should not put a person in front of such a rigid alternative of “either-or”, because we cannot act only with negative incentives. On the contrary, we need to create additional opportunities so that when the life situation changes, a person who has worked abroad for 10-20 years will want to return at some point. I completely agree with the president – ​​we need to do everything to get people back. But we also need to have a “plan B”: if a person does not want or cannot do it right now, then let them have the opportunity to do it in some time. Although, of course, we need to fight for the return of most people as soon as possible so that they can rebuild the economy.

In principle, yes. In our country, multiple citizenship is not prohibited, it is simply not recognized... This bill does not change anything fundamentally, it is rather about a simplified procedure for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship for people from a certain category of countries. Basically, these are EU countries, the United States, and even some Latin American countries.

By what parameters is this list determined?

There are mainly EU countries, which is logical, because we will be a member of the EU and these countries are our closest allies. By the way, there is a discussion now that Israel should also be included in this list. That is, we are talking primarily about democratic developed countries.

"No changes should be made to the Constitution"

Why has this bill surfaced now? Four years ago, even before the war, the president had already registered a similar initiative, which was never submitted to the Rada. Why is everything suddenly in motion now? Just because we are joining the EU and something needs to be done with our millions of immigrants?

It seems to me that this issue has become more acute now because about 8 million people have left. Every law solves some social problem, and now this problem is demographic, so it makes sense to try to solve it in advance.

Do you seriously think that this law alone will encourage people to return?

Of course, this should not be just one law. It is simply one element of a comprehensive approach to solving the problem.

 

The Constitution speaks of a different single citizenship – that is, there cannot be citizenship of regions or cities in Ukraine

 

Have you heard the more down-to-earth version of this bill? It will instantly simplify the purchase of Ukrainian land by foreigners, who are currently prohibited from selling it.

I haven't heard of it, it's a rather unexpected idea. In general, I'm not against buying land by foreigners, because I look at other countries that have opened the land market. Still, this restriction will have to be lifted when we join the EU. For example, in the Baltic states and Poland, there were initially restrictions on buying by foreigners, but when they were lifted, there weren't many people who wanted to. On the contrary, foreign investors need to be encouraged.

After the presidential bill appeared, a discussion began about what to do with the rights and obligations of people who, in addition to Ukrainian, will have one or more citizenships. Should they be allowed to participate in elections, should they be provided with social benefits, and in which army should they serve? How has Europe, where multiple citizenship is not uncommon, resolved these issues?

The answer is very simple: we must be guided by the Constitution, in particular the principles of equality of all citizens. A law that restricts the rights of a citizen of Ukraine is unconstitutional and violates his fundamental rights. If a person has already become a citizen, then that's it - he bears obligations and has rights in full.

But the same Constitution, which cannot be changed during martial law, determines that there is a single citizenship in Ukraine.

The Constitution does not need to be amended. The Constitution speaks of a different single citizenship – that is, there cannot be citizenship of regions or cities in Ukraine. This does not apply to the prohibition of multiple citizenship, this is a completely incorrect interpretation. Especially if we join the EU, where EU citizenship is already provided for, what do we need to change the Constitution for this?

 

Ethnic background does not affect a person's worldview or which country they fight for

 

It is obvious that this project, if it is voted on, will require the adoption of a number of by-laws to resolve all the gaps that arise. For example, will a person who has never even been to Ukraine, but has lived somewhere in Argentina all his life, be able to apply for any state services or participate in local elections? How will this work in practice?

These are technical issues that are resolved through bylaws. The main thing is that these acts do not violate the Constitution and the law on citizenship. For example, I see nothing wrong with a citizen of Ukraine living in another country having the opportunity to vote.

I myself went to our embassy in the States to vote during the Orange Revolution. Technically, there is no problem with this. Social issues are resolved by social legislation, there are international treaties that regulate these issues. Nothing much needs to be changed here.

And how exactly is this resolved in the European Union? Let's imagine a person has citizenship of Sweden, France, and Austria - where will they receive their pension? Depending on where they live, where they worked the most? Or in several countries at once?

You can receive a pension in two places if you worked in two or even three countries. If a person from Ukraine moved to Germany, worked there, then went somewhere else... Why not? The mechanisms have been worked out for a long time, and these issues have always been resolved.

"Russian Ukrainians will still remember that they are Ukrainians"

Citizens of the aggressor country cannot claim dual Ukrainian citizenship. But almost simultaneously with this bill, Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree on the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians, which are oppressed by the Kremlin regime. According to this logic, we should give these people citizenship in a simplified way if they consider themselves Ukrainians and part of our state. And at the same time, we cannot do this, since they are Russian citizens.

Such things should be the exception. Imagine: a Russian citizen came to fight for Ukraine and wants to become a citizen of our state. We should grant him Ukrainian citizenship in a simplified manner, but on the condition that he loses his Russian citizenship. At the same time, Russia will do everything to prevent him from doing this. It will summon him to its territory, of course, with what consequences. Therefore, a separate procedure should be created for such Russians so that they can renounce Russian citizenship on the territory of Ukraine. And I would add a similar procedure for citizens of the accomplice of aggression - Belarus.

And what about the people who live in the conditional Kursk region, do not want or cannot leave there, but consider themselves Ukrainians? The president is going to protect them, and they do not even have a Ukrainian passport.

Well, we will decide this issue after the victory. It can really happen, because millions of ethnic Ukrainians live in Russia. But among them there are those, such as, for example, Valentina Matvienko ( Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation ), who supposedly has Ukrainian origin, but is a war criminal. Or Dmitry Kozak ( Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation ), also from Ukraine. But these people have become Russian imperialists, that is, ethnic background does not affect a person’s worldview and which country they fight for.

There are the same Ukrainians who previously worked in the north of Russia and received Russian citizenship there in a simplified manner. I remember that in the first years of Ukraine's independence, it was difficult to obtain its citizenship, while Russia gave its without any bureaucratic problems. And if now these people have a question about how to get rid of it, then we need to help and provide them with such an opportunity.

 

Medvedchuk was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship, but how will we now hold him accountable for treason?

 

What about our compatriots in the occupied territories who are forced to obtain Russian passports because they simply cannot receive basic services without them? They already have, in fact, dual citizenship.

The issue here is not so much about obtaining citizenship, but rather about deprivation. Formally, for the fact that a person has received a passport of an aggressor state , he or she can be deprived of Ukrainian citizenship.

By the way, this is a questionable practice from the point of view of human rights, this is what the Soviet Union did with dissidents. We must understand that those people who retain Ukrainian citizenship, not even in the form of a piece of paper, but in their heads, and dream of returning Crimea to the bosom of Ukraine, live in conditions of terror. We do not forget that Russia is a totalitarian repressive state and in order to survive there, sometimes people are forced to take Russian passports. But this is a crime on the part of the one who forces people to such passportization, and people can be victims. I cannot throw a stone at them.

In a democratic society, this should not happen, because it resembles a scoop. But we need to make an allowance for war, when the situation is somewhat different. Perhaps in some limited situations, deprivation of citizenship makes sense, but I believe that this should be done carefully. That's good - they deprived Medvedchuk of Ukrainian citizenship, but if we catch him now, how will we charge him with treason? Even in wartime, the rule of law must be adhered to as much as possible, although this is not always possible.

Is Zelensky's decree on Ukrainians in Russia a trolling of Kremlin officials who constantly dream of "historical lands" or some kind of reserve for the future? What real consequences could this document have?

From a legal point of view, this decree is important in that it is a reminder that Russia is violating international law. It is a lawsuit to the International Court of Justice regarding the violation of the rights of Ukrainians in the occupied territories: the decree reinforces our international legal position. Russia is committing genocide not only in the occupied territories and not only against Ukraine. This genocide takes the form of destroying the identity of Ukrainians, their culture, and depriving them of the opportunity to learn the Ukrainian language in Russia itself. We need to remind you of this in this way. But we will still be witnesses when, in some time (I think not very distant), Putin will be gone and serious changes will begin in Russia. Then Russian Ukrainians will remember that they, the Ukrainians, have always supported us, but were silent because they could not do anything. And they will try to obtain Ukrainian citizenship. All this is still ahead.

Pavlo Vuets