BECAUSE of the ban on dual citizenship implemented in July 17, 2010 by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s first government, 482 men and 373 women lost their citizenship, most in favour of Czech citizenship.
The revision to the Slovak Citizenship Act was passed as a response to the Hungarian Dual Citizenship Act, which cleared the path for ethnic Hungarians living abroad to gain citizenship, with Fico claiming “we have to defend ourselves”. To some, the Hungarian law targeted nearby countries like Slovakia and Romania, which have a significant Hungarian minority.
Those affected most often received Czech citizenship (325 cases), followed by German (171); Austrian (119); British (74); Hungarian (55); American (20); Belgian (18); Norwegian (15); Dutch (14); Italian and Irish (both 8); Swiss (5); French, Australian, Canadian (4 each); Icelandic, Chinese, Swedish (2 each); Ukrainian, Russian, Danish, New Zealander and Polish (1 each), the TASR newswire reported.
The Interior Ministry recently announced that it is preparing changes to the current legislation, so that if Slovak citizens with permanent residence in a foreign country acquire the citizenship of that country, they will not lose their Slovak citizenship. Currently, however, permanent residents of Slovakia who gain foreign citizenship still automatically lose their Slovak citizenship, TASR wrote.
The State Citizenship Act has been challenged at the Constitutional Court, but the court has not ruled as yet.
Compiled by Spectator staff from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
