Between the strong and the week

It’s an open secret that a lot of people in Ukraine have double citizenship. Typically it is non-Ukrainian nationals who hold two passports. For instance, Russians in the Crimea will additionally have Rus-sian citizenship, Bulgians in Odesa oblast have Bulgian, Romanians or Moldovans in Odesa or Chernivtsi oblasts have Romanian, while Hungarians in Zakarpattia oblast are at the same time Hungarian subjects. Notably, this is the case with not only rank-and-file citizens, but also numerous officials, legislators of various levels, and business owners.

Such individuals tend to keep it quiet, since Ukrainian laws prohibit double citizenship. Article 4 of the Constitution of Ukraine reads: “There is single citizenship in Ukraine. The grounds for the acquisition and termination of Ukrainian citizenship are determined by law.” The Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship of Ukraine,” Article 19, states that “The citizenship of Ukraine is lost: 1. If a citizen of Ukraine has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another state after attaining his/her majority.”

However, the recent situation with Oleksandr Presman, member of the Odesa Oblast Rada, reveals that nothing is that simple in this sphere. Talking to journalists, Presman openly boasted about his double citizenship. Moreover, he tried to persuade them that his holding two passports, Ukrainian and American, was not prohibited by Ukrainian laws.

So, does the law of Ukraine forbid double citizenship, or doesn’t it? If so, how should law enforcement authorities treat the bearers of double citizenship? How does it jeopardize the country’s national security? And if not, what should state do? What measures should be taken? The Day turned to experts for answers.

“IT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME STRONG”

Ihor TANCHYN, political scientist, Lviv:

“Double citizenship is quite a common practice allowed by the law in many countries including the US, Canada, Russia, Israel, etc. There is a curious regularity: nations that practice double citizenship are typically strong in the military and economic spheres, while weaker countries would rather not permit their citizens to resort to the protection of another country in order to avoid performing their duties to their native country, or just to have certain obligations before another state.

“The reason is simple: when equal rights are at conflict, the stronger country gets the upper hand. This was demonstrated by Russia in North Ossetia: first, the Russian authorities handed out Russian passports in this separatist region of Georgia, and then, Russia brought in its troops to allegedly defend its newly-acquired citizens. By the way, Russia itself does not welcome other countries handing out their passports within its borders and only acknowledges double citizenships acquired before 2002, or if the Russian holder of two passports resides in another country. Doesn’t this suggest a potential fifth column? Of course, weaker states cannot afford this kind of policy, and therefore their efforts are mostly aimed at the defense from the pressure from stronger neighbors.

“There are two ways double citizenships are spread in Ukraine:

1. They may be initiated by separate individuals, who thus get an opportunity to avoid possible persecution. Due to the widespread ‘presumption of guilt’ in this country, quite a lot of business owners and politicians, including the very topmost state officials (I don’t know the situation with our presidents, but two prime ministers, Yukhym Zviahilsky and Pavlo Lazarenko, did have foreign passports), prefer to have a sort of ‘alternate airfield,’ just in case;

2. The handing out of passport is practiced by countries which have a strong diaspora in Ukraine, such as Russia, Hungary, or Romania.

“In both cases, this poses potential jeopardy for Ukraine (in the first case, foreign security services can exercise pressure on our business owners and politicians, while the second might lead to the Ossetian scenario).

“However we must admit that the vast majority of our citizens who get another passport are driven by something quite different than disloyalty to this country, let alone the desire to harm Ukraine. In fact, they are attracted by additional opportunities given by wealthier states. More than four million Ukrainians are working abroad now. Of course, they need a passport which will allow them to get a job and legal protection in the countries where they had to seek a better lot.

“All this suggests a simple conclusion: we must become strong. Meanwhile, we have to strictly keep to the effective law and punish for its violation. Of course, the latter applies not only to the laws on citizenship.”

“OUR COUNTRY WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE REALITY”

Volodymyr KVURT, secretary, Lviv City Council, 2006-10:

“In my opinion, nowadays Ukraine does not prohibit double citizenship. Its position rather suggests an ostrich which will not acknowledge the fact. Thousands of our citizens who have received foreign citizenships and did not confirm in writing their wish to terminate Ukrainian citizenship (and of course, waited till they got the Decree of the president of Ukraine), virtually remain only Ukrainian subjects! That is, our country refuses to as much as even acknowledge this reality, and in its legal relations with such citizens pretends that nothing happened and they still remain Ukrainian subjects, with all legal consequences.

“Which means that such citizens have the right to vote and be elected (like the abovementioned legislator at the Odesa Oblast Rada), while theoretically the heaviest punishment, imposed for double citizenship, can be a termination of Ukrainian citizenship for such a person – and only in case it does not fall under the exceptions provided by the Law of Ukraine ‘On Citizenship’ (for instance, simultaneous acquisition of citizenship by birth) or in accordance with the ratified European Convention, Chapter 5 of which obliges member states to allow their citizens to preserve different citizenships, acquired at birth or via marriage.

“This selective application of the Law could serve as the reason for selective monitoring or persecution, which does not necessarily involve any consequences save for unpleasant moments of interaction with law enforcement officers.

“Yes, today a lot of our citizens make use of this ‘blindness’ of state. Yes, some individuals, alongside with immunity as MPs, also get a foreign passport. But this obscure standpoint finally tears the thin threads connecting Ukraine to thousands of its citizens, who were forced to look for better opportunities elsewhere. They fear to be punished and lose their gains, earned by fair work outside Ukraine. They cannot visit their family and the graves of their deceased relatives because they won’t try any risks. This ‘blindness’ kills the hopes of millions of our emigrants and their children to come back to their fatherland, since they do not feel their specialness and know that for Ukraine, they and some African tribesmen have the same rights and possibilities.

“Does this ‘blindness’ allow us to speak of national security? No, because even the procedure of access to classified information for civil servants or MPs is not regulated by the law.

“In my view, Ukraine should not be afraid of double citizenship. Double citizenship must become a tool to bring close those who care for this country, to try and support the bearers of Ukrainian identity worldwide, and create a special regime of investments and opportunities for the development of Ukraine. The main thing to do is to stop trying to avoid the challenges, and make the facts of double citizenship public. It should be up to the voters to decide. Maybe, a Panamanian citizen will be more trustworthy.”

“THERE IS A PROVISION OF LAW BUT NO SANCTIONS FOR ITS INFRINGEMENT”

Oleksandr RADKO, former director, Department of Citizenship and Registrations of Physical Entities, Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Zhytomyr oblast, retired police colonel, leader of the Batkivshchyna faction at the Zhytomyr City Council:

“According to the law, the termination of an individual’s Ukrainian citizenship requires a relevant presidential decree. Frankly speaking, the head of state has other things on his hands. Therefore, relevant authorities prepare respective applications in exceptional cases, e.g., when a person is badly compromised by public anti-Ukrainian statements, or activities on the verge of crime which have become public. I am convinced that our state overlooks the implementation of efficient measures against those who break constitutional and legislative regulations in this sphere. That is, there exists a provision concerning the inadmissibility of double citizenship, but there are no sanctions for its infringement. Thus, our wise guys, including civil servants, manage to get passports of several states: when going to the US, they produce their American ID, and in Russia they have a Russian passport, and when they come back to Ukraine, they carry a Ukrainian passport. Each state has certain preferences for its citizens at the border, and people try to make use of them.

“Of course, the situation with double citizenship in the Crimea is particularly difficult. The officers and sailors of the Black Sea Fleet there get Ukrainian passports and stay in the Crimea. Yet when they are retired, their pensions are calculated according to the tariffs for the officers or sailors of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is much more than that of their Ukrainian counterparts – and are paid, in accordance with the Russia- Ukraine agreement, from the Ukrainian budget.

“The punishment for infringements on citizenship laws does not necessarily have to be imposed under the articles of the Criminal Code. The offenders need not be sent to prison. Conversely, financial measures may be used, such as heavy fines, for one.

“Concerning the question of prevention of the granting of Ukrainian citizenship to foreign subjects, Articles 6-11 of the Law ‘On Citizenship of Ukraine’ stipulate a number of reasons for this. In particular, if a seeker’s parents or grandparents are or were Ukrainian citizens, this is a matter of Ukrainian descent. If this is absent, then there are serious obstacles to obtaining citizenship. However, if an individual has resided in Ukraine for a specified length of time, he or she can apply for our citizenship. But his or her foreign passport must have a note of having crossed our border. The proof of legal stay on Ukrainian territory is also required. The foreign passport has to be turned in, or at least the applicant has to provide a notarized letter of commitment to terminate the applicant’s original citizenship. However, if nothing of the above is done, our state does not initiate any proceedings against such individuals.

“I think that this situation jeopardizes Ukraine’s national security, because foreign subjects can travel via our territory to take part in hostilities in the neighboring country (like in 2008, when foreign nationals traveled from the Crimea to Georgia), or to commit terrorist attacks. Concerning the participation of foreign citizens in our elections, I think it is a vital question for the Crimea. This does not pose any problems in other regions of Ukraine.

“The mending of the situation is in the hands of people with the right of legislative initiative. In particular, there should be interested MPs to initiate a bill on the strengthening of responsibility for the infringement of effective legislation concerning the citizenship of Ukraine.”