PanARMENIAN.Net
Dual citizenship – a step towards unification of the Armenian Nation.
The Israeli form is more applicable for Armenia, the 2/3 of whose
nation is spread all over the world.
28.02.2007 GMT+04:00
The RA National Assembly passed a bill on citizenship in its second
and last reading. 66 deputies voted for, 5 were against. Those having
dual citizenship may have a vote in elections in Armenia only if they
have residence registration in their own name. This stipulation also
anticipates those citizens’ registration at the enlistment
office. Those being 18 and over, and having permanent residence in
Armenia over the last 3 years, capable of expressing themselves in
Armenian and being familiar with the country’s Constitution may be
granted Armenian citizenship.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Besides Armenian citizenship may be obtained when
either the husband or the wife is Armenian or the child of a married
couples has Armenian citizenship, or when one has Armenian
origins. Those having been revoked the Armenian citizenship after
January 1, 1995 may also obtain Armenian citizenship. According to the
Document, request for obtaining Armenian citizenship may be turned
down for those who are of some danger to the national or public
security. Revocation of the citizenship is not necessarily to be
founded. According to law, anyone having dual citizenship may serve
in the Armenian Army, however, if they have done their military
service in another country for minimum 12 months, or have done
alternative military service for 18 months minimum, they have the
right not to serve in the Armenian Army. Parliamentary amendments do
not free the Armenian citizens holding the citizenship of another
country at the same time, from serving in the Armenian Army. Meanwhile
those having dual citizenship may not put forward once candidacy for
President or NA Deputy. They cannot be Member of Constitutional Court
either.
The institute of dual citizenship has been functioning for a rather
long time, so it is well known to international and constitutional
right in all its aspects, as well as in the way it is implemented.
Countries recognizing dual citizenship, must sign a contract, where
the salvations of all possible disputable questions are
stipulated. Only after signing this contract dual citizenship may be
applied in the given country. This means that if Armenia doesn’t have
the above mentioned contract with, suppose, USA or Great Britain, dual
citizenship will be merely declarative for the Diaspora in these
countries. In 1940 in the USA bill on Citizenship was passed, which
limited the rights of the American citizens taking part in the
elections of another country. Those having dual citizenship must pay
the bills according to the laws of both countries, if no contract of
tax avoidance is signed between those two countries. Being within the
boarders of one country, the dual citizenship holder may not count on
the protection of the other country’s Government. Similar laws are
also applied in Great Britain. If one holds citizenship of a different
country, he doesn’t lose the citizenship of Great Britain. Even if one
is granted UK citizenship and at the same time holds citizenship of
another country, which doesn’t recognize dual citizenship, the
Government of this country has the right to demand renouncement of the
UK citizenship.
The Israeli form is more applicable for Armenia, the 2/3 of whose
nation is spread all over the world. The Declaration of Independence
of Israel, adopted in 1948, states; ` The State of Israel will be open
to Jewish immigration and will receive all the Jews spread all over
the world; it will strain every effort for the development of the
country for the welfare of its people.’ In fact any Jew arriving in
Israel from another country may obtain Israeli passport without any
bureaucratic protractions, not being obligated to renounce the first
citizenship. As for taxes, according to unwritten law every Jew
assigns his so-called `1/10′ to the Government.
«PanARMENIAN.Net» analytical department