By Parviz Malakouti-Fitzgerald, Esq.
These three examples dealing with German law can actually give insight with much wider applicability
How will a country that's antagonistic to dual citizenship know if you picked up a second citizenship? The answer is that very often the individual tells on themself by accident.
A recent European Court of Justice ("ECJ") judgment from April 25th, 2024 on automatic loss of German citizenship provides three good examples.
The judgment deals with three joined cases in which Germany stripped the German citizenship, as a matter of law, of people who reacquired Turkish citizenship after naturalizing in Germany. It’s an important judgment for the issue it deals with - to what extent European Union citizenship can be stripped as a matter of law when a person voluntarily naturalizes in another country.
The European Court of Justice, located at Rue du Fort Niedergruenewald, 2925 Kirchberg Luxembourg
But in this article, I want to highlight a totally different aspect of the judgment - the insight it gives into ways that countries learn about their citizens becoming dual citizens “illegally.”
Even though this ECJ opinion deals with Germany, the example disclosures given by the individuals involved can apply in the context of other countries too.
Three Examples to Learn From
Here are the three ways the German authorities learned of the acquisition or reacquisition of Turkish citizenship of the claimants
1. Applying for a travel document for yourself or minor children. These forms often ask you to list your citizenships.
From the judgment: "On 25 May 2018, when applying for a travel document for his son, S.O. disclosed he had reacquired Turkish nationality."
2. In person interviews with authorities. People often speak openly and freely, without regards to ancillary effects of what they say, because they're not aware of the consequences of what they say.
For my own immigration clients, I prepare my clients and I attend the interview as well when possible, whether in person or by telephone. This allows me to make sure my clients avoid trouble topics when possible, and to be able to address the problem as it is unfolding rather than after the fact when it may be too late.
As the saying goes, "you can’t put toothpaste back in the tube."
From the ECJ judgment: "On 1 September 2005 during an interview with the authorities of the City of Wuppertal, they indicated that they had reacquired Turkish nationality on 24 November 2000."
3. Applying for proof of citizenship of some sort, whether by certificate, declaration, or otherwise. Again, these forms often ask the applicant what citizenships they have.
From the ECJ judgment: "On 19 December 2017, M.S. and S.S. applied to the City of Krefeld for a declaration that they held German nationality."
The Common Thread
What do all three examples have in common?
All three were disclosures by the claimants themselves, not high tech, fancy schmancy information sharing between governments.
I'd speculate in some or possibly even all three cases, the claimants didn't attach much importance to their mention of Turkish citizenship. They just thought it was a benign off-hand disclosure. So one might wonder: why not just omit the mention of the second citizenship in the relevant forms that ask for it?
The problem is there may be consequences for doing so such as loss of the benefit requested or worse, some sort of criminal liability for making a misrepresentation. I don't know exactly what German law has to say on this point, but this is the type of consequence many countries have for making such misrepresentations.
The Value of Proper Counsel
Understand the consequences of information you give to the government.
This means if you're doing something in reliance that a government has a weak enforcement mechanism, understand you may be put between a rock and a hard place in having to make a future disclosure on the issue.
Lastly, as always, have an excellent mobility lawyer in your corner to advise you properly to avoid these devastating mistakes to the extent possible.