In early 2016, following terror attacks in Paris, the French Justice Minister resigned.
She had opposed a proposal to strip French nationals of their citizenship if convicted
of terrorism.
This amendment faced criticism, suggesting it would discriminate and not likely deter
terrorists.
In fact, stripping a person of citizenship is a rare occurrence in many parts of the
world.
So, what does it actually take to lose your citizenship?
Well, in most of the world, you are either granted citizenship upon birth, or you can
naturalize after immigration.
It is almost always easier for naturalized citizens to lose citizenship than for those
who are born into it.
However, in both cases, there are very few offenses serious enough to warrant revocation,
outside of voluntarily renouncing your own citizenship.
For naturalized citizens in the US, it may be revoked for illegally obtaining citizenship
by not fulfilling the necessary requirements, and by concealing or misrepresenting a fact
that would have originally prevented citizenship.
This is called “denaturalization”.
You can also lose citizenship by being part of a subversive organization, which would
usually include any group advocating to overthrow the US government, or harm US officials.
You also can lose it for refusing to testify before a Congressional committee on your supposed
subversive activity.
Following World War II, more than 100 former Nazis, and others involved in war crimes who
had not disclosed their status, were stripped of their naturalized US citizenship.
Later, during the Red Scare in the 1950s, some people lost their citizenship on accusations
of being communist spies.
But for those who are born into citizenship, there are specific actions which can cause
one to lose citizenship.
However this is only when it’s clear that the action was done with the intention of
relinquishing it.
You will lose your US citizenship if you join the military of a country which is engaged
in hostilities with the US, or achieve a high rank within another non-hostile country’s
military.
Additionally, acts of treason, which are defined as partaking in conspiracy to overthrow the
government, would qualify for revocation.
In 2001, a man born in Louisiana was captured in Afghanistan, allegedly fighting alongside
the Taliban against the US.
The question of whether to strip his citizenship on the basis that he had joined a hostile
military was an important distinction, as he was detained for multiple years by the
US government, without being charged.
Eventually he was deported to Saudi Arabia on the condition that he agree to personally
renounce his American citizenship.
For most European countries, in addition to serving in another country’s military, other
potential cases apply.
These include the loss of citizenship by both parents if the person in question is still
a child, or if adopted by foreign citizens.
In some countries, like Japan, if you are born with dual citizenship, you must renounce
the non-Japanese one by the age of 22.
But overall, it is actually relatively difficult to lose a legally acquired, or natural born
citizenship.
France’s potential amendment may resonate with those hoping to stop terrorism, but in
practice it seems unlikely to matter to any potential terrorists.
There are over ten million people around the world who are not citizens of any country.
To learn about what it means to be stateless, watch our video here.
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