Traveling to the country of birth

[Bobsmyth]

By recognized I mean that ukrainian citizenship is not automatically revoked when acquiring another citizenship.

From the Ukraine consulate general website:

Loss of the citizenship of Ukraine
Citizenship of Ukraine shall be lost:

1. if a citizen of Ukraine voluntarily acquired citizenship of another state;

http://www.ukrconsul.org/Citizenship_ukraine_EN.htm#13

That sounds pretty automatic to me.

 

[absrao]

From the Ukraine consulate general website:

Loss of the citizenship of Ukraine
Citizenship of Ukraine shall be lost:

1. if a citizen of Ukraine voluntarily acquired citizenship of another state;

http://www.ukrconsul.org/Citizenship_ukraine_EN.htm#13

That sounds pretty automatic to me.

What about line just about there
"For a citizen of Ukraine an affiliation to foreign citizenship shall not be recognized until the decision on his/her loss of citizenship of Ukraine is adopted.". That seem to say that the foreign citizenship of a Ukraine citizen is not recognized by Ukraine unless something is done.. Am I not reading it right ?

 

[Al Southner]

The OP left Ukraine as a refugee, and why is he now interested in returning there? Rub it in face of the Ukrainian officials? I suspect that the OP is going to face a rub down at the airport.

 

[DreamUSA]

Tend to agree with Al Southner... If determined to take a risk...At least let some time pass..perhaps let the current Ukrainian passport to expire...

 

[eltoro]

The OP left Ukraine as a refugee, and why is he now interested in returning there?

Everyone tends to want to visit their families at some point in time... Besides, Ukraine in 1991 was a mess, now it is a country recognized by most countries of the world including the US. Don't ridicule people if you don't know the basic story behind their expatriation decision.

 

[König]

From the Ukraine consulate general website:

Loss of the citizenship of Ukraine
Citizenship of Ukraine shall be lost:

1. if a citizen of Ukraine voluntarily acquired citizenship of another state;

http://www.ukrconsul.org/Citizenship_ukraine_EN.htm#13

That sounds pretty automatic to me.

With all due respect, Bobsmyth... but you are incorrect. The information provided on this website is outdated. Before 2005, the law provided for the loss of Ukrainian citizenship (however, not automatic) if another citizenship was acquired. Now, acquiring another citizenship can serve as a justification for renouncing Ukrainian citizenship.

 

[König]

Everyone tends to want to visit their families at some point in time... Besides, Ukraine in 1991 was a mess, now it is a country recognized by most countries of the world including the US. Don't ridicule people if you don't know the basic story behind their expatriation decision.

Ukraine was recognised by most of the world right after it acquired independence on 24 August 1991. It was a mess in economical sense, but I can't recall any significant discrimination based on religious or political factors.

Ukrainian Constitution and Ukrainian government did not undergo any major changes since 1991, so I don't see any reason pashenka would want to visit Ukraine in its current state either.

 

[Bobsmyth]

With all due respect, Bobsmyth... but you are incorrect. The information provided on this website is outdated. Before 2005, the law provided for the loss of Ukrainian citizenship (however, not automatic) if another citizenship was acquired. Now, acquiring another citizenship can serve as a justification for renouncing Ukrainian citizenship.

I'm going by what the Ukrainian general council website states. Whether the information is up to date or not is another issue.

 

[dms1]

My question is, if Ukraine still claims me as a citizen just because I was born there (being an unpredictable country that it is) and makes me do military service when I visit, will US protect me as a US citizen?

Thanks.

No they won't. Effectively, if you are in a country that you are a citizen of then it is as if you only had that one nationality. In times of emergency the US embassy would likely offer you the same protection they would to anyone else regardless of nationality as a humanitarian gesture, but they will not treat you as a US citizen.

This is the main reason that dual-nationality of often discouraged - especially when the two countries have a history of disagreement.

 

[König]

I'm going by what the Ukrainian general council website states. Whether the information is up to date or not is another issue.

The funny thing is that it would not be accepted by Ukrainian officials as the explanation why you did not follow the current law. They changed the wording of article 19 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Citizenship of Ukraine". Before, it stated "The citizenship of Ukraine shall be lost if..." whilst now it states "Reasons for loss of citizenship of Ukraine are...".

Стаття 19. Підстави для втрати громадянства України

Підставами для втрати громадянства України є:

1) добровільне набуття громадянином України громадянства
іншої держави, якщо на момент такого набуття він досяг повноліття.

My translation:

Article 19. Reasons for loss of citizenship of Ukraine

Reasons for loss of citizenship of Ukraine are:

1) voluntary acquisition of citizenship of another state by a citizen of Ukraine if at the time of such entry, he/she reached adulthood.

In Ukrainian legal dictionary, "loss" of citizenship does not equal to "termination" of citizenship. Here is article 17:

Article 17. The grounds for termination of citizenship of Ukraine

The citizenship of Ukraine is terminated:
1) due to withdrawal of the citizenship of Ukraine;
2) Due to loss of citizenship of Ukraine;
3) on the grounds envisaged by international agreements
Ukraine.

 

[König]

Hi, thanks for all the replies. I left Ukraine as a refugee and renounced my Ukrainian citizenship at the point of exit.

Unless you have some proof that the Ukrainian government accepted your "renunciation", they can still claim you as a citizen of Ukraine. The USA consulate is not trained to determine whether you are still considered the citizen of Ukraine, so if Ukraine claims you as its citizen (and it is your birth country), the US Department of State will not be able to do anything for you.

 

[Al Southner]

Everyone tends to want to visit their families at some point in time... Besides, Ukraine in 1991 was a mess, now it is a country recognized by most countries of the world including the US. Don't ridicule people if you don't know the basic story behind their expatriation decision.

Nobody was ridiculed, are you out of your mind? I merely asked why is he interested in returning there whereas it is possible he might be detained and given a hard time? Just because you hold an American passport doesn't mean you country of birth is supposed to back down from what they deem as required national services and commitments. I am aware of countries where people who left and never did any national service, the day they arrive back into those countries, irrespective of the passport they hold, are send to jail. kept there for a week and force to go to military training....

If he has family, it likely that he might not see them freely, but they will be visiting him in jail. He can pay for their tickets to another European country and freely enter and leave without worrying about possible detainment. I admonish you that before you make any accusation, you understand all sides of the issues.