Security and Cooperation in Europe developed principles seeking to restrict such policies in response to Hungary’s extension of citizenship to ethnic Hungarian non-residents.183 These concerns became more urgent with Russia’s imposition (technically, provision for facilitated acquisition) of citizenship following its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and invasion of other parts of eastern Ukraine in 2022.184 Although the disquiet in these cases starts from the traditional concern of infringement on the sovereignty of other States, concern for the rights of the individuals impacted is also now more evident. In 2024, the UN Human Rights Committee held that Russia’s automatic naturalisation provisions in respect of citizens of Ukraine or stateless persons with permanent residence in Crimea constituted discrimination on the basis of national origin and was thus a violation of the right to equal protection of the law.185 Provision for preferential access to nationality on the basis of racial or ethnic identity may, however, be welcomed where it is designed to remedy past injustices. Compensatory grant of nationality to redress past wrongs has been employed by several States, including not only Germany in respect of denationalised Jews and their descendants, but also Spain, Portugal, Namibia and some former Soviet States of Eastern and Central Europe.186 As Foster and Baker note, the drafting history of ICERD shows that preferences of this type were envisaged as falling within State discretion.187 The permissible boundaries of such grants remain contested, especially where the provisions seem to be not so much about repairing wrongs as achieving other policy aims. In general, however, the consensus seems to be that preferential grant of ‘reparatory’ citizenship may be justified, provided that it does not shade into exclusion of access for those not within the specified categories.188 Finally, however, there is the question of whether nationality can simply be sold: the ‘citizenship by investment’ programmes adopted by some (mostly small island) States, in which a passport—and full citizenship rights—are exchanged for what is effectively a cash sum (with or without additional purchase of property). Can the ‘genuine connection’ of nationality be so diluted?189 In 2025, the CJEU confirmed the view of the European Commission that such schemes are impermissible.190 Some commentators condemned the judgment as threatening the return of ‘Blut und Boden’ from the ‘long nineteenth century’.191 Others, however, welcomed 183 Venice Commission for Democracy through Law, ‘Report on the Preferential Treatment of National Minorities by Their Kin-State, adopted by the Venice Commission at Its 48th Plenary Meeting (Venice, 19–20 October 2001)’ (Council of Europe 2001) Doc No CDL-INF(2001)019-e; High Commissioner on National Minorities, ‘The Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations on National Minorities in Inter-State Relations & Explanatory Note’ (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 2008). 184 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Situation of Human Rights in the Temporarily Occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol (Ukraine)’ (2017); Open Society Justice Initiative, ‘Human Rights in the Context of Automatic Naturalization in Crimea’ (2018); N Jain and R Bauböck (eds), Weaponized Citizenship: Should International Law Restrict Oppressive Nationality Attribution? (European University Institute 2023). 185 Roman Bratsylo v Russian Federation Communication No 3022/2017 (23 May 2024) UN Doc CCPR/C/140/D/3022/2017, para 8.17. 186 See contributions to D Owen and R Bauböck (eds), Citizenship as Reparations: Should the Victims of Historical Injustice Be Offered Membership? (European University Institute 2025). 187 Foster and Baker (n 4) 108–14. 188 R Bauböck and D Owen, ‘Citizenship as Reparations: A Rejoinder’ in Owen and Bauböck (n 186) 77. 189 See discussions in D Kochenov and K Surak (eds), Citizenship and Residence Sales: Rethinking the Boundaries of Belonging (CUP 2023); LD Spieker and F Weber, ‘Bonds without Belonging? The Genuine Link in International, Union, and Nationality Law’ (2024) 43 YEL 56; J Džankić et al, ‘The Archipelago Capitalism of Citizenship-By-Investment’ (2025) Comparative Political Studies 00104140251400342. 190 Case C‑181/23 European Commission v Republic of Malta ECLI:EU:C:2025:283. 191 D Kochenov, ‘Never Mind the Law, Again: Commission v Malta (C-181/23)’ (EULawLive, 30 April 2025) <https://eulawlive.com/op-ed-never-mind-the-law-again-commission-v-malta-c-181-23/>.