It's called the European Convention on Nationality.
The agreement also clarifies the military obligations for people with multiple nationality, a topic becoming increasingly relevant as countries like Germany and France are discussing the reintroduction of military conscription.
Last Friday, the German parliament approved a landmark law that brings back the military service on a voluntary basis, with the possibility to extend it to needs-based recruitment.
What is the European Convention on Nationality?
The European Convention on Nationality is an international agreement signed in 1997 under the Council of Europe (not an EU institution). It was designed to provide a general framework on the acquisition, retention, loss, and recovery of nationality, also in the context of geopolitical changes occurring in the 1990s.
The 1997 Convention built on a previous one, dating back to 1963, which was based on the idea that “multiple nationality was undesirable and should be avoided as far as possible,” says its explanatory report.
It recognised, however, that increasing labour migration in Europe, the growing number of mixed marriages, EU’s freedom of movement, and more equality between men and women, made the previous Convention outdated.
Professor Maarten Vink, Chair of Citizenship Studies at the Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute in Florence, says the European Convention on Nationality “provided a new approach to multiple nationality, which was previously restricted under the 1963 Convention, but was increasingly seen as a demographic reality in the context of gender equality and mixed-origin families where both parents can transmit their citizenship to their children”.
The Convention “provides a neutral, rather than restrictive approach,” Professor Vink argues, while ensuring “some basic standards in the field of nationality for the new democracies born in Eastern Europe since 1989, as well realise some harmonisation of the grounds for acquisition and loss of nationality in the different European States in the context of longstanding migration”.
Which countries signed the Convention?
Today, 29 European countries have signed the Convention: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, TĂĽrkiye, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Eight (Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland and Russia) have not ratified it, so it is not binding there.
Naturalisation requirements
Under the Convention, “persons lawfully and habitually resident” in a country should have the possibility of naturalisation. The Convention provides indications on the conditions for acquiring citizenship, including a period of residence not exceeding 10 years, the processing of applications “within a reasonable time”, the possibility of administrative or judicial reviews, and “reasonable” fees.
The Convention further establishes the principle of non-discrimination, so that rules on citizenship acquisition do not “contain distinctions or include any practice which amount to discrimination on the grounds of sex, religion, race, colour or national or ethnic origin.”
Countries should facilitate the acquisition of nationality for spouses and children of its nationals (natural and adopted), including with shorter residence periods, less stringent language requirements, easier procedures and lower fees, the text also says.
Distinctions between foreign husbands and foreign wives would have to be eliminated and both parents should be able to transmit their nationality to children.
Children rights
Countries that signed the Convention should recognise in their internal law that children born of one of their nationals would automatically acquire citizenship, although there can be exceptions for children born abroad.
Citizenship should also be facilitated for children born and resident in the country, persons who have been resident since childhood, stateless persons and refugees living in the state.
Infants found abandoned on the territory of the country with no knowledge of the parents should also have access to citizenship if they are otherwise stateless.
Non-discrimination
The principle of non-discrimination should also apply after the acquisition of citizenship, so that when it comes to rights and duties there is no distinction with nationals by birth.
People with multiple nationality should be treated equally to those holding a single one, the Convention also specifies. In reality, a recent report by the Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) at the European University Institute (EUI) found that discrimination persists as “a large share of the citizenship stripping provisions … only apply to specific groups, particularly citizens by naturalisation”.
Multiple nationality
Children born with different nationalities should be able to retain them. Under the Convention, both parents should have the possibility to transmit their nationality to their children. Also, nationals should be able to have another nationality if this is automatically acquired by marriage, not being forced to choose one over another.
Military obligations
For individuals with multiple nationality, the Convention clarifies that they are not required to comply with military obligations in more than one state.
People with multiple nationalities “are only required to serve in the country where they are habitually resident,” the text says. Nevertheless, they can choose to serve in another signatory country until the age of 19.
People living abroad can choose to fulfil their military service in the signatory country of which they are nationals.
Citizens of a country where military service is not obligatory “shall be considered as having satisfied their military obligations when they have their habitual residence in that country”, but not in relation to other countries of which they are nationals and where military service is required.
Those who have been exempted from their military obligations or have fulfilled civil service in one of the signatory countries are considered to have fulfilled their duties in relation to another signatory party of which they are also nationals, the Convention says.
Loss of nationality
Under the Convention, the loss of nationality is permitted only in specific cases. These include “the voluntary acquisition of another nationality”, the acquisition of nationality by fraudulent means or false information, “voluntary service in a foreign military force”, conduct against “the vital interests” of the country, lack of a genuine link between the country and a “national habitually residing abroad”.
Citizenship cannot be revoked and renounced if the person concerned would become stateless.
On the other hand, signatory countries should “facilitate the recovery of … nationality by former nationals who are lawfully and habitually resident on its territory”.
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