2019 Statelessness & Citizenship Review B 1(2) Ratione personae Interestingly, under these different deprivation grounds, only certain Belgian nationals can be deprived of their citizenship. Belgian legislation installs a double protection mechanism. First, only dual nationals fall under the scope of the different deprivation possibilities.73 This protection mechanism was installed to avoid people being rendered stateless. 74 Within this group of dual nationals, a second division is made: Belgian legislation installs a category of (dual) nationals who are never at risk of being deprived of their citizenship. According to the Belgian Constitutional Court, this is justified because they supposedly have strong links with the national community.75 Conversely, a category of (dual) nationals is installed, who are at risk of being deprived of their nationality because they lack such links to the community. 76 To determine who has such links with the national community and thus, who is eligible for deprivation, one must look to the mode of acquisition of one’s nationality. Unlike what might be expected, there is no case-by-case evaluation of the individual’s situation. Instead, depending on the mode of acquisition of one’s nationality, Belgian nationals are divided into one of two pre-set categories: subjected to citizenship deprivation or protected from it. Those protected from deprivation are threefold. Firstly, this category involves persons who are born from Belgian parents. 77 Secondly, it involves persons who are born in Belgium and whose parents were also born in Belgium and had their principal residence there during the ten years preceding the birth or adoption of the child. 78 These children are ‘native-born’ Belgians, ie they are born with the Belgian nationality as an automatic consequence of the law. Finally, the protected category involves persons who are born in Belgium and have always had their principal residence there. They can acquire Belgian nationality before the age of twelve, following a declaration of one of their parents, who were themselves not born in Belgium but who have had their principal residence there during the ten years preceding the declaration and of whom at least one is permitted to stay in Belgium for an unlimited period. 79 According to the Belgian Constitutional Court, these persons are considered to have particularly strong links with the national community, given their birth in Belgium and their descent from Belgian parents or parents who were born in Belgium, or given their own birth and long residency on the territory, as well as that of their parents. 80 On the other hand, there are (dual) Belgian nationals who are subjected to deprivation powers. This concerns persons who have acquired the Belgian nationality (as the opposite of being born with it), apart from the specific category of those falling within the scope of the CBN, art 11 bis. 81 On the basis of CBN art 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 ibid art 23–23/2. In the case of fraud, this protection mechanism collapses. See ibid art 23(1). De prejudiciële vragen betreffende artikel 23 van het Wetboek van de Belgische nationaliteit, gesteld door het Hof van Beroep te Antwerpen [The Questions Referred for a Preliminary Ruling Concerning Article 23 of the Code of Belgian Nationality, Set by the Court of Appeal in Antwerp] Cour Constitutionnelle, App No 16/2018, 7 February 2018 [B.6]–[B.7] (‘Preliminary Question No 16/2018’). ibid. CBN (n 5) art 8, 9. Throughout this article the term ‘parents’ is inclusive of adoptive parents. ibid art 11(1). ibid art 11 bis. Preliminary Question No 16/2018 (n 75) [B.6]. CBN (n 5) art 11 bis. 272