Jules Lepoutre Rights of the European Union, especially its article 7 protecting the right to respect for private and family life, and article 24 protecting the child’s best interests. Even if the court’s decision does not directly address the issue, it seems reasonable that residence-based loss of nationality between Member States would eventually inhibit freedom of movement and, therefore, be deemed incompatible with EU law. (2) Legislation Regarding the Loss of Nationality in Case of Residence Abroad (L02) Only 10 Member States have passed legislation regarding the loss of nationality after long-term residence abroad.66 Three general models can be distinguished. The first model aims to correct ex-post the situation where a naturalised citizen does not reside in his or her new country of nationality. 67 It derives from the 1948 British Nationality Act established half a century ago, which specifies in article 20(4) that “[t]he Secretary of State may by order deprive any person naturalised in the United Kingdom and Colonies of his citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies if he is satisfied that that person has been ordinarily resident in foreign countries for a continuous period of seven years.” At that time, the law provided for two exceptions in article 20(4)(a) and (b): if the individual has been “in the service of His Majesty or of an international organisation”; or “register[ed] annually […] his intention to retain his citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies.” This first tradition enshrined in British law (and no longer in force) spread to common law countries in Europe, and is still in force in Cyprus, Ireland, and Malta. Thus, these three Member States may issue a deprivation order against naturalised citizens who have resided abroad for seven years, unless they have registered annually or been in the service of their country. Their laws do not include a prohibition of statelessness, in conformity with the 1961 Convention on Reduction of Statelessness, but in violation of the 1997 European Convention on Nationality – which none of them has ratified. The second tradition aims to prevent the ius sanguinis ad infinitum phenomenon, i.e., the unlimited transmission of nationality to future born-abroad generations.68 It has origins in various countries, notably in the Nordic ones. In 1949, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark held a joint committee and agreed on common principles for their citizens, which they implemented in national laws in the 1950s (the ‘Nordic agreement’).69 Denmark and Sweden thus have common principles regarding loss of nationality in case of residence abroad, which provide for automatic loss at the age of 22 of the born-abroad citizen who has never lived in his or her country of origin, or has resided for seven years in one of the Nordic countries. The only way for the citizen to prevent this loss is to ask the minister for an authorisation, which is granted on a discretionary basis. Sweden has an explicit provision against statelessness, while Denmark does not. The other Member States follow the same rationale with respect to born-abroad citizens, which is to cut ties with them if they do not express the wish to retain nationality. Belgian legislation, for instance, provides for the automatic loss of nationality for born-abroad citizens who continually reside abroad from age 18 to 28 and do not declare their will to retain nationality before the age of 28 or ask for civil documents. Belgium fully respects statelessness prohibition in this case. In France, a citizen by descent who has been born abroad loses nationality (after birth) if his or her direct ancestors have resided abroad for more than fifty years, and if he or she does not habitually reside in France and has no “apparent status” (i.e., the individual does not act, subjectively and objectively, as a French citizen). It is up to the judge to decide if and when nationality is lost, with no guarantee against statelessness. Finally, in Spain, the legislation focuses on citizens who are born abroad to parents also born abroad. They automatically lose their nationality at the age of 22 unless they make a declaration to 66 Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. 67 Cyprus, Ireland, and Malta. 68 Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, and Sweden. This can be extended to Member States which apply conditional bornabroad ius sanguinis, i.e., Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. 69 Midtbøen, A., H., S. R. Birkvad, and M. B. Erdal (2019). Citizenship in the Nordic Countries. Past, Present, Future. Copenhagen: TemaNord, 29-30. 16 Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Working Papers