Can I keep my home country citizenship?

Although many countries now accept dual citizenship, it all depends on the laws of your country. If the following list does not answer your question, please call your consulate or embassy for more information. Go to http://www.embassyworld.com/ to find out what number to call.

  • Mexican citizenship is not lost if a second nationality was acquired after March 20th of 1998. There is also a process through which individuals who lost their Mexican citizenship by becoming citizens of another state can recuperate it.
  • Polish citizenship is not lost automatically after a second citizenship is obtained; however, the individual is treated as a Polish citizen while in Poland and an American citizen while in the U.S.
  • Persons of Indian Origin of certain category who migrated from India and acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh, are eligible for grant of dual citizenship as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.
  • The Philippines now accepts dual citizenship, and as of 2003 any national who previously lost his or her citizenship is now able to apply to re-acquire it.
  • Chinese law does not accept dual citizenship—a Chinese citizen who becomes a citizen of a foreign country implicitly renounces his Chinese citizenship.
  • Because Korea has mandatory military service they do not accept dual citizenship. A Korean individual who becomes a U.S. citizen is required to renounce his Korean citizenship at a consulate office.
  • If you willingly apply for a foreign citizenship and obtain it, the German citizenship is automatically lost. If you obtain a foreign citizenship without an application for naturalization, you remain a German citizen. Loss of citizenship can be avoided by obtaining a special permit ("Beibehaltungsgenehmigung") before you are naturalized in a foreign country.
  • Italy recognizes dual citizenship since August 15, 1992—but individuals must register new citizenship with a consulate.
  • Vietnamese law does not recognize dual citizenship; however, an individual who applies for American citizenship does not automatically loose his or her Vietnamese citizenship.
  • British law allows dual nationality.
  • The Canadian government does not consider the taking of the U.S. citizenship oath as an act of renunciation of Canadian citizenship.

© 2008 Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights