NEXT year the Interior Ministry will return Slovak citizenship to people who lost it by adopting the citizenship of a different country – a move related to their permanent residence in the given country, TASR learned on December 14.
People would have to approach the Interior Ministry with their request for Slovak citizenship and the ministry will assess it. If the condition of having permanent residence in a foreign country will be fulfilled, people should get their Slovak citizenship back. Such a move will be qualified as an exception which legislation allows for granting in cases when it is in Slovakia’s interest.
The ministry do not have any detailed figures on how many people could have their citizenship returned thanks to the amendment, according to TASR.
Altogether 963 people have been deprived of their Slovak citizenship since the amendment became effective in the summer of 2010, adopted in response to the Hungarian Dual Citizenship Act, which cleared the path for ethnic Hungarians living abroad to gain Hungarian citizenship, went into effect, while most of them were granted citizenship in the Czech Republic, followed by Germany, Austria and Hungary.
Most Slovaks replaced their Slovak citizenship for the Czech one - 351, followed by that of Germany - 182, Austria - 140, and United Kingdom - 91. Then comes Hungary with 58, followed by the USA - 27, Belgium - 21, Norway and the Netherlands - 19 each, Ireland - 13, Italy - 9, Switzerland - 8, Australia - 5, France and Canada - 4 each, Iceland, China, Poland and Sweden - all 2, and Ukraine, Russia, Denmark and New Zealand - all 1.
The relevant amendment to the State Citizenship Act still hasn’t been presented by the Interior Ministry, and it’s still unclear when it will be introduced. Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák earlier this year stated that it could be put into practice in early 2015.
“Considering the ongoing discussions and preparation of an internal directive the exact date has not been set,” reads an Interior Ministry statement, as quoted by TASR.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Roman Cuprik from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
