Are you sure you are Czech? / Jste si jisty svym Ceskym obcansvim?
Up until recently I have always thought that the Czech Republic allows you to have a dual citizenship. WRONG (with a few exeptions) !!. And here is why…..
Az do nedavna jsem si myslela, ze Ceska republika dovoluje dvoji obcanstvi. Chyba lavky (az na par vyjimek)…
WHAT IS A DEFINITION OF CZECH CITIZENSHIP?
According to the Jus sanguinis (”right of blood” in Latin) principles the Czech citizen at birth is a descendant of a Czech parent.
- it does not matter if that person is born in the Czech Republic or abroad
- if the parents are not married and only the father is Czech, a proof of paternity is required
- babies born in the Czech Republic to foreign parents do not get Czech citizenship unless the parents are stateless or have a permanent resident card
HOW DOES IT AFFECT EMIGRANTS?
Thousands of Czechs and Slovaks had left the communist regime behind during the years of 1948 to 1989 by escaping to the West. The jealous Czech government punished those people by taking away their citizenship. Understandably, after the the fall of communism in 1989 lot of these emigrants wanted their citizenship back. Because of the tricky wording of the law only few people took advantage of it. Also, the citizenship was “granted” to them and not “returned” (weird!)….and they had to get rid of their foreign citizenship!
- if a person was a citizen of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in 1992, he may declare citizenship of either Czech Republic or Slovakia (assuming that person doesn’t have any other citizenship)
HOW DOES ONE BECOME A CZECH CITIZEN?
If one lives in the CR for 5 years (and holds a right for permanent residence) then he/she can apply for Czech naturalization. They have to, however:
- lose their original citizenship
- have to prove proficiency in the Czech language
The residence requirement can be waived if one:
- was born in the CR
- has lived continuously in CR for no less than 10 years
- has had Czech citizenship before
- the spouse is Czech
- at least 1 parent is Czech
- is stateless (refugee)
HOW DO YOU LOSE CITIZENSHIP?
If one gains a citizenship of another state by his/her free will. There are exceptions, however: if a Czech citizen marries a foreign citizen and receives another citizenship while being married to that foreigner, he/she can have a dual citizenship (new law passed in 2003).
Involuntary loss of citizenship is not possible. “However it is sometimes argued by emigrants and emigrant groups the restrictions on dual nationality are a form of involuntary deprivation of citizenship” (1). The czech legal version follows:
| (1) Státní obcan ceské republiky pozbývá státní obcanství ceské republiky dnem, kdy na základe výslovného projevu vule (žádost, prohlášení, souhlas nebo jiný úkon smerující k nabytí cizího státního obcanství) dobrovolne nabyde cizí státní obcanství. K pozbytí státního obcanství ceské republiky nedojde v prípadech, kdy došlo k nabytí cizího státního obcanství v souvislosti s uzavrením manželství se státním obcanem cizího státu, a to za predpokladu, že došlo k nabytí cizího státního obcanství manžela za trvání manželství. K pozbytí státního obcanství ceské republiky nedojde ani v p?ípadech, kdy k nabytí cizího státního obcanství došlo narozením. |
Source:
1/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_nationality_law
2/http://www.myczechrepublic.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=30314
3/http://www.czechembassy.org/wwwo/default.asp?ido=12886&idj=2&amb=114
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so, basically if you are Czech and married to a foreigner, you have a dual citizenship. Cool.
tahnk you, thank you, I got my US citizenship and was mourning the czech one, I had no idea they changed it!! Last time I was talking to cz. embassy (2001) they thought I was crazy..