Dual Citizenship (2024)

FAQs

How hard is it to get dual citizenship? ›

A Complicated Process. Sometimes dual citizenship happens automatically, such as when a child is born in the U.S. to foreign parents. In other cases, the process can take many years and can be extremely expensive and complicated. This can deter some people from pursuing dual citizenship.

Why are banks asking if I have dual citizenship? Banks might want to know if you have a dual nationality for a variety of reasons. Dozens of countries agreed to the Common Reporting Standard in 2014 to help combat tax evasion, money laundering and control the funding of terrorism.

Downsides of multiple citizenships

While dual citizens might reduce taxes, they also face double taxation on foreign income or property, depending on national laws. Career restrictions. Some nations prevent dual citizens from government roles or positions like judges, ministers, or deputies. Military service.

The U.S. Government recognizes that dual nationality exists but does not encourage it as a matter of policy because of the problems it may cause. Claims of other countries on dual national U.S. citizens may conflict with U.S. law, and dual nationality may limit U.S. Government efforts to assist citizens abroad.

Different countries have different rules, but the easiest countries to get dual citizenship are states like Turkey, Vanuatu, Grenada, and Dominica. They offer citizenship by investment that can be obtained in 2—8 months.

How long is the process? Filing your citizenship application with USCIS is only the first step of the process. Overall, naturalization can take up to 1.6 years, depending on the USCIS field office that receives your application and how soon you start the process.

Do Americans Becoming Dual Citizens Have to Inform the U.S. Government? As an American citizen, when you naturalize in another country and become a dual citizen, generally you are not obligated by U.S. law to inform U.S authorities in any way.

Today, most advanced economies allow dual citizenship; notable exceptions which restrict or forbid it are Austria, Japan, the Netherlands, and Singapore.

While the United States allows for dual (or multiple) nationality, there are some requirements that U.S. citizen dual nationals must follow, regardless of whether they hold another nationality: You must enter and leave the United States on your U.S. passport.

The United States generally considers a person with dual U.S. and foreign citizenship a U.S. citizen for Social Security purposes. This does not apply if you are a U.S. citizen and a citizen of a country the United States has an international social security agreement with.

Will I lose my U.S. citizenship if I apply for dual citizenship? ›

Owe allegiance to both the U.S. and a foreign country. Must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the U.S. Do not have to choose one nationality over the other. As a U.S. citizen, you may naturalize in another country without risking your U.S. citizenship.

U.S. law does not impede its citizens' acquisition of foreign citizenship whether by birth, descent, naturalization or other form of acquisition, by imposing requirements of permission from U.S. courts or any governmental agency.

The United States will not ask naturalizing citizens to take any steps to formally renounce the citizenship of their home country. Nor will it stop U.S. citizens from later adopting citizenship in another country, though if their intention is to give up U.S. citizenship, they can certainly do so.

The pros and cons of dual citizenship vary. Dual citizens significantly increase their global mobility, business, and education opportunities. Besides, dual citizenship may be a solution to a tax burden. At the same time, dual citizenship might sometimes imply double taxation.

Dual nationality is traditionally disfavored by law and diplomatic practice—denounced as an evil, condemned as worse than bigamy. But some writers, and also many government leaders on the world stage, today endorse and even promote the status.

While the United States allows for dual (or multiple) nationality, there are some requirements that U.S. citizen dual nationals must follow, regardless of whether they hold another nationality: You must enter and leave the United States on your U.S. passport.

By 2016, more than 80% of countries in Europe and the Americas permitted dual citizenship. Today, the acceptance of multiple citizenship has become the norm among developed countries. The few countries that resist this trend — for example, Austria and Japan — are now the exception.

One of the many benefits of becoming a U.S. citizen is that it is a stable immigration status. Unlike the situation for lawful permanent residents (green card holders), someone who has attained naturalized U.S. citizenship can't lose that status solely by living outside of the United States for a long time.