Citizenship Loss and Deprivation in the European Union (27 + 1) (2) Legislation Regarding Loss of Nationality of Persons Acquiring a Foreign Citizenship (L05) Only nine Member States still possess provisions regarding the loss of nationality after the acquisition of foreign citizenship.55 This mode of loss of nationality has been losing ground in the last couple of decades, as seven Member States have repealed legislation in this respect.56 This trend is closely linked to the well-documented increased acceptance of dual nationality.57 The vast majority of Member States that provide for this mode of loss base it on the general “acquisition” of a foreign nationality by one of their citizens. Some countries, such as Estonia or Ireland, emphasize the “voluntary” character of this acquisition, or Spain the “free will.” By way of exception, Ireland and Slovakia do not provide for loss of nationality when the foreign nationality is acquired through marriage, and Spain when the individual acquires the nationality of the foreign country where he or she is born and resides, or has resided for five years before coming of age, or is married with a citizen of the country (which are situations where the acquisition could be less of a choice than a normal development). More broadly, Spain only allows for the loss of nationality when the individual habitually lives in a foreign country. Similarly, Germany used to forbid the revocation of nationality of Germans residing in national territory – a legal prevision which was called “Inlandsklausel.” It was in force until 1999 and had made possible for Turkish migrants to circumvent the prohibition on dual nationality by reacquiring Turkish nationality after renouncing it in order to be naturalised. After 2000, several tens of thousands of naturalised Germans of Turkish origin where stripped of their nationality because this exception had been removed.58 All citizens of these nine Member States – either by naturalisation of by birthright – are subject to this mode of loss, except in Ireland where only naturalised citizens can lose their Irish nationality if another nationality is acquired. Austria, Germany, and Latvia allow individuals to request the permission to retain their nationality, which is granted on a discretionary basis. Spain allows individuals to declare their intention to retain their nationality within the three years following acquisition. The majority of Member States follow a lapse procedure, which means that the nationality is automatically lost, by the sole operation of the law, at the moment of acquisition of a foreign nationality and if other conditions are fulfilled.59 Only Ireland and Latvia apply a withdrawal procedure, but the Irish government seems to no longer issue deprivation orders on this ground.60 Three Member States refrain from applying these provisions when the nationality acquired belongs to a specific State or group of States. Germany does not apply its law when the second nationality acquired belongs to a Member State of the European Union, or Switzerland; Latvia makes even wider exceptions for Member States of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, NATO on the one hand, and Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, and all countries with dual nationality agreements on the other hand; Spain makes an exception for Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal. 55 Austria, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Spain. 56 Belgium in 2007, the Czech Republic in 2014, Denmark in 2015, Finland in 2003, Luxembourg in 2009, Malta in 2000, and Sweden in 2001. 57 See, among many others, Spiro, P. (2016). At Home in Two Countries: The Past and Future of Dual Citizenship. New York: New York University Press. 58 I thank Rainer Bauböck for bringing this to my attention. 59 Austria, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Spain. 60 Handoll, J. Country report: Ireland, [GLOBALCIT], EUDO Citizenship Observatory, 2010/22, 15. No revocations seem to have occurred in practice. European University Institute 13