By definition, Dual Citizenship means a person is a citizen of two countries at the same time. Some countries don’t allow dual citizenship at all, while others have restrictions. Some of the reasons to bestow citizenship include: at least one of your parents is a citizen, you’ve been born on the country’s territory , you marry a person holding the citizenship, you are naturalized or you’ve been adopted as a minor and at least one of your adoptive parents is a citizen.
Citizens of European Union (EU) member states have a special EU citizenship – although not as dual citizenship – which allows them to work , live and travel in any of the EU members for an unlimited period of time. Some restrictions are in place for a limited period of time and apply to the newly admitted countries.
For a moment, let’s assume the restrictions aren’t in place and you can pick any country to have dual citizenship for. Which country would you pick? Why?
I must admit , this is a pretty hard question for me. I am a EU citizen , which allows me to travel and live in any EU country for an unlimited period of time. Because I come from a newly admitted country, the work restrictions are in place until 2014. But , I am married to a Hungarian born in my country (which used to be Austro-Hungarian Empire) and he is allowed to get Hungarian citizenship. By marriage, I am also allowed to get dual citizenship. What will that mean for us? Hungary is part of the Schengen area , which means easier travel formalities within Europe and easier access to visas for other countries (and which require too much bureaucracy if I submit the paper with my birth citizenship). With our dreams of living (and my husband also working) in places like Athens, Budapest, or London , having dual citizenship means more freedom than now and less headaches when it comes to the paperwork.
» This week on BootsnAll: Articles you’ll read this week include: a piece on how to get permission from the school so that your kids can travel with you, information on why Israel and the Palestinian Territories should be on your travel list and what to see there, details about planning and extended trip in Central America , a lovely piece on taking a learning vacation and information on how to keep the feeling of travel alive when you are stuck at home.
Week 33 of the Indie Travel Challenge is about dual citizenship.
If you could pick any country to have dual citizenship for, what country would you pick? Why?
Don’t forget to add your blog posts to the main Indie Travel Challenge page – and be sure to include a picture when you do (we love pictures!).
The Indie Travel Challenge is a year-long blogging project. Every Monday, we’ll post a new prompt, question, or challenge that bloggers can respond to via text, photos, or video. Respond on your own blog, and link back to BootsnAll so we can find and highlight the best submissions.
Check out the Indie Travel Challenge landing page for all information related to the event. You can see the week’s daily prompt, follow the hashtag on Twitter, share your posts, and check out submissions from around the world.
Photo by jpmatth