BRAISLAVA, January 14, (WEBNOVINY) –Parliamentary deputies of the strongest opposition party SMER-SD suggests to soften the Slovak citizenship law so that Slovaks living abroad can apply for other country’s citizenship without losing Slovak passport. The draft amendment to the law that Robert Fico, Dusan Caplovic and Vladimir Faic delivered to parliament would allow Slovak citizens to obtain foreign citizenship if their stay in the country, where they apply for citizenship, is permitted and registered for at least six months. Citizens who would apply for Hungarian citizenship would lose Slovak one in accordance with the last controversial revision to the law on citizenship.
The amendment also enables people who lost Slovak citizenship between July 17, 2010 and April 30, 2011 after being granted citizenship of another country to regain the Slovak citizenship in a much simpler way compared with the standard procedure. Such applicants would not have to meet conditions of integrity, permanent residence in Slovakia or fluency in Slovak language. However, such option would be only given to people who have registered at least six-month stay in the state, citizenship of which they were granted.
The law on citizenship, which the Slovak Parliament passed in reaction to Hungary’s decision to grant citizenship to every applicant with ancestors in Hungary and speaking Hungarian, took effect on July 17 of last year. The law introduced by the previous government of Robert Fico stipulates that people who succeeded in obtaining foreign citizenship have to report it to Slovak authorities and return Slovak documents otherwise they face a fine. The coalition led by SDKU-DS is trying to enforce an anti-measure, which would declare ineffectiveness of the Hungarian dual citizenship law in Slovakia. The SDKU-DS’ proposal has been in the second reading in parliament. SMER-SD and SNS slam such solution as unenforceable. Parliament will discuss the amendment submitted by SMER-SD at its next session, which starts on February 1.
The dual citizenship law, adopted by the Hungarian Parliament in May 2010 with a vast majority of votes, allows ethnic Hungarians living abroad to apply for Hungarian citizenship, if they prove their Hungarian origin, speak the Hungarian language and if they pose no threat for the public, nor for national security. The government of Robert Fico reacted to the Budapest law with the amendment to the citizenship law enabling to strip a citizen of the Slovak Republic who is granted another country’s citizenship of Slovak citizenship.
SITA