Pros and Cons of Dual Citizenship

Dual citizenship laws are very stringent, each country has its own unique set of standards and criteria for granting dual citizenship. This law has often invoked big debates, controversies and disagreement amongst various governments and authorities of countries. In the US, this ongoing debate, especially led to a concept of 'dual nationality'. In his famous speech of 1915, six years after giving up his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt denounced this law and termed it as 'hyphenated Americans'.

Canada, Russia, France, Israel, United Kingdom, United States and Australia are the countries that currently grant dual citizenship. China, India, Philippines, Germany and Japan are the ones who forbid dual citizenship.

Many countries haven't allowed dual citizenship because they think that it will amount to increased immigration of outsiders, high crime rates, less employment opportunities for their citizens and a general socio-cultural imbalance in the society. On the other hand, many countries promote dual citizenship as they feel it increases the competency level of their citizens. This opens the door for free and liberal trade, thereby increasing job opportunities and helping the country to have a global impact.

Dual Citizenship: Pros
Dual citizenship has number of merits. A citizen with a dual passport has many financial advantages. He can travel to both countries because of a dual passport, which certainly takes much less time to process than the normal visa and passport. This is of utmost importance to business heads/business people wishing to invest in the real estate market of that country. In other words, they can buy property easily. This investment can be done in both countries and so it opens a two way path for their income!

A dual citizen is likely to be bilingual, so he can be an asset to a firm that has its business ventures spread globally. Cultural exchange of ideas, intermingling of new people, languages and more opportunities for people to show their talents are some other advantages a dual citizen can have.

Dual Citizenship: Cons
The demerits of dual citizenship must be viewed relative to the merits, for only then can one weigh both sides equally. Legal transactions, misconduct and illegal works are some of the crimes for which different countries have their own set of laws. If a dual citizen is found to be involved in such crimes, it's uncertain with which laws he should be persecuted. This legal uncertainty may be magnified in serious crimes and frauds committed by a dual citizen.

Another issue with dual citizens is whether the state should grant them equal rights in the issues concerning political and social cases of the country. It's a fact that people don't feel a bonding for a particular community, unless they are allowed to freely and constructively participate in issues related to the country.

Also, authorities against dual citizenship argue that it may threaten the political identity of the country. National security may be threatened if terrorists or similar organizations or their members use dual citizenship as an easy path to cross their borders. Another basic question that arises is, which country will the 'dual' citizen be loyal to? People whose loyalties are either divided or elsewhere, may be a threat to the nation's security. It may undoubtedly lead to illegal immigration in various sorts.

Many countries have mandatory participation from its citizens, in military training and wars. In such cases what job should a dual citizen be assigned? As a dual citizen, he may voluntarily quit the training and go to his state and return when things are better. If such breach of national security is done, then what?

Dual citizenship is an on-going debate and people, states and immigration law makers, all have different views. Still, it exists and is very successful in many countries, especially the liberalized economies.

Martina Navratilova (tennis icon) , tennis star and stunning model Anna Kournikova, iconic actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (also the Governor of California), Madeleine Albright (US Secretary of State 1997-2001), Christian Comefard (White House chef for over 10 years) and Jennifer Granholm (Governor of Michigan) are few personalities who belonged to a different country, but accepted US as their homes. Some may or may not have dual citizenship (they may have naturalized American citizenship), but they still form the success story of immigrants. Dual citizenship can give us freedom to travel to countries without much delay, so you can have breakfast in US and easily have your dinner in Switzerland!! Exciting indeed!!