Slovak citizens acquiring the citizenship of another country will not lose their Slovak citizenship as of January 2012 if they have a residence permit in the country where they are applying for citizenship, according to an amendment to the State Citizenship Act proposed by MP Pavol Hrušovský of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and MP Jozef Mikuš from the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the TASR newswire reported.
The amendment, which will be debated in parliament in October, is aimed at eliminating what have been called negative consequences of the law on dual-citizenship adopted during the government of former prime minister Robert Fico and to restore Slovak citizenship to people who lost it as a result of the law.
Slovakia’s current State Citizenship Act, which Fico's government passed in response to Hungary's dual-citizenship law, states that Slovak citizens who apply for citizenship of another country automatically lose their Slovak citizenship. Hrušovský claimed that the proposed amendment has the support of three parties of the governing coalition but not from Most-Híd party.
"We'll never vote for an act that will make it possible for Slovak citizens to lose their citizenship against their will", Most-Híd's László Solymos told TASR, adding that it is not yet clear whether the four MPs from the Civil Conservative Party (OKS) who are part of Most-Híd's parliamentary caucus will vote for the amendment.
The amendment was initially planned to be advanced by the Interior Ministry but was submitted by the SDKÚ and KDH MPs because not all four coalition parties agreed on the draft.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
