Thread: German upper house says 'no' to dual citizenship

Immigration | 26.03.2010
German upper house says 'no' to dual citizenship

Conservatives say dual citizenship is counterproductive For German-born children of foreign parents, the choice between citizenship in their birth country and their parents' is a difficult one. Three German states proposed to allow them to keep both, but were denied.

On Friday the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, voted down a petition to allow dual citizenship for the German-born children of foreign nationals.

City-states Berlin and Bremen were joined by the state of Brandenburg in proposing to reverse a law made in 2000, under which children born to foreign nationals in Germany must choose one citizenship by their twenty-third birthday.

Berlin's home affairs senator Ehrhart Koerting argued that allowing dual citizenship would lead to a happier integration of foreign nationals.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Berlin's home affairs senator believes dual citizenship would allow for easier integration

"For many people, the need to choose between German citizenship and foreign citizenship feels like having to give up part of their identity and cut ties with their ancestry," said Koerting. "It seems foreseeable that the choice could lead to conflicts within families."

Merkel doesn't like the idea

Hesse's justice and integration minister Joerg-Uwe Hahn of the Free Democratic Party disagreed, saying that dual citizenship was counterproductive to integration and that no need for it had been demonstrated.

Friday's decision is in line with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative position on integration. Merkel responded negatively to Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having Turkish schools in Germany.

Earlier this week, Erdogan told German weekly Die Zeit that it was "very regrettable that Germany is one of the European Union countries that doesn't allow dual citizenship."

The group most affected by Germany's dual-citizenship laws are the descendents of Turkish migrant workers. Though the rule also applies to those with double EU nationalities, it has not been enforced in their cases.


Editor: Ben Knight


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,54 ... l-1573-rdf

Smart move. Some would like to have their cake and eat yours too!!!

Quote:
"Merkel responded negatively to Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion of having Turkish schools in Germany."

Hold that line! I wish someone in a U.S. Administration or the Dept. of Education had "responded negatively" to allowing Mexico to place in U.S. schools Mexican textbooks which teach that the United States essentially "stole" the Southwestern states from Mexico. I also wish we could rid ourselves of the practice of allowing U.S. citizens to hold Dual Citizenship, which also enables some who hold dual citizenship to vote in the elections of two entirely different nations, most recently in both the U.S. and Mexico.

For many people, the need to choose between German citizenship and foreign citizenship feels like having to give up part of their identity and cut ties with their ancestry," said Koerting. "It seems foreseeable that the choice could lead to conflicts within families."

Conflicts within the family? I would be more worried about potential conflicts between countries because you have a citizenry with divided loyalties!

I have posted my story years ago here:

I am vehemently against dual citizenship.
After gaining my US citizenship I automatically
became a dual citizen because the US turns a
blind eye and allows new citizens to keep their
original citizenship.

I fought a two year battle in a foreign court
to have my native country's government to accept
my desire to renounce any legal ties to my former
country. Once I had become an American,
my loyalty would rest entirely with the United States.

It was not easy but I got it.

People in general thought that I was being radical
and I should have kept my dual citizenship for convenience,
in case things go bad here. But I told them I became a
citizen for thick and thin, this is my country, no split loyalty.

The United States should stop the practice of allowing dual
citizenship. Actually, it should start enforcing the law in the books
where it does not accept it.

Want to be one of us? Than show us your full commitment
to our country. 100%, no less.

For those who do not want to give up anything: don't apply for
citizenship, better yet, stay home.

Kudos to Germany. I wish we could just do the same.

odiesback wrote:

I have posted my story years ago here:

I am vehemently against dual citizenship.
After gaining my US citizenship I automatically
became a dual citizen because the US turns a
blind eye and allows new citizens to keep their
original citizenship.

Reply:
Thank you for this information; I hadn't realized that this was the case. And thank you for your outstanding patriotism!