Citizenship Security Becomes Questionable as European Nations Explore Revoking Nationality
In a significant shift, current global trends indicate a growing adoption of legal frameworks allowing countries to revoke citizenship on national security grounds. This trend has gained momentum particularly since the early 2000s, following heightened security concerns after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Approximately one-third of countries worldwide now have legal provisions to withdraw citizenship if individuals are deemed disloyal or pose a security threat.
The Global State of Citizenship report, published by the Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT) at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, highlights four main methods countries use to revoke citizenship on security grounds. These relate closely to cases involving terrorism, extremism, or activities that threaten national loyalty or public safety. Nearly 80% of countries have rules covering at least one of these situations.
Many European countries have adopted or expanded such laws. Between 2000 and 2020, 18 European nations implemented policies allowing citizenship deprivation based on national security concerns, an approach rare before 2001. Examples include Sweden, which is conducting government inquiries into revoking citizenship from security risks, and Germany, where coalition parties are discussing a similar policy for those found to be "supporters of terrorism, antisemites, and extremists". Hungary has amended its constitution to allow the temporary suspension of citizenship for national security reasons.
The United States is also intensifying its efforts to revoke citizenship, especially targeting naturalized individuals who obtained citizenship fraudulently or pose serious national security risks such as terrorism, war crimes, and gang-related activities. This initiative prioritizes cases where strong evidence exists and potentially affects millions of naturalized Americans.
While not directly linked to revocation, some countries impose travel bans and stricter immigration controls on nationals from perceived security-risk countries. For example, the US’s travel bans on countries like Cuba and Burundi reflect broader security concerns.
Alongside citizenship revocation, several countries are tightening immigration and family reunification rules, which indirectly affect citizenship acquisition and retention. For example, Belgium, Finland, and Italy are imposing stricter conditions on permits and citizenship acquisition, reflecting a global trend towards more restrictive immigration and citizenship policies in the name of security and social control.
It's important to note that citizenship can be lost in 55 countries simply by residing abroad. Other reasons that can lead to the stripping of citizenship include when naturalised individuals have committed serious criminal offences, when someone was found to have served in a foreign army, and due to fraudulent acquisition.
The report indicates that a large share of citizenship stripping provisions are discriminatory, primarily affecting naturalized citizens. Thirty-five countries do not allow people to renounce citizenship, or they make it impossible in practice. Many countries have introduced provisions for withdrawing the citizenship of a person on the basis of national security grounds.
The Middle East and North Africa are other regions where these policies have expanded. The first Global State of Citizenship report, published in 2024, analysed citizenship laws in 191 countries. The report found that countries offer highly unequal pathways for acquiring citizenship, with varying demands for criteria such as economic self-sufficiency, civic or cultural integration, language or citizenship tests, and renunciation of other citizenships.
This trend of making it easier to take away someone's citizenship has been gaining pace in recent years. The report suggests that this shift reflects broader security concerns fueled by terrorism, extremism, and transnational crime, leading to increasingly fragile notions of citizenship rights worldwide.
- Some countries, like Germany and Sweden, have been adopting or expanding laws allowing citizenship deprivation based on national security concerns, a trend that has become more common since 2001.
- Approximately one-third of countries worldwide now have legal provisions to withdraw citizenship if individuals are deemed disloyal or pose a security threat, a method primarily affecting naturalized citizens.
- In the United States, efforts are being intensified to revoke citizenship, targeting naturalized individuals who obtained citizenship fraudulently or pose serious national security risks.
- Alongside the trend of citizenship revocation, there is a global trend towards more restrictive immigration and citizenship policies in the name of security and social control, such as stricter immigration and family reunification rules in Belgium, Finland, and Italy.
