By Olha Chepil | 2024-02-07

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month submitted a draft law to allow Ukrainians to gain dual citizenship, a move that is particularly significant for Ukrainians living abroad and foreign volunteers fighting on Ukraine's side.

Zelenskyy announced the proposed legislation on January 22 on the anniversary of Ukraine's Day of Unity, Voice of America reported.

"Those who, with the outbreak of a full-scale war, regardless of their place of residence, birth or passport, said in the affirmative, 'I am Ukrainian.' ... they should finally become Ukrainians by passport," Zelenskyy said.

If approved by the Ukrainian parliament, the draft law would bypass Ukraine's constitution, which does not give Ukrainian citizens the right to dual citizenship.

The approval process is expected to take about a year.

The draft law specifies the countries with which Ukraine will allow dual citizenship, pending bilateral agreements, according to the Ukrainian World Congress, an international nonprofit representing the Ukrainian diaspora.

The list includes European Union (EU) members and G7 countries. More than 30 countries are included -- with the notable exception of Russia.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, now nearly two years on, has inflicted catastrophic demographic damage on Ukraine.

About six million Ukrainians left the country in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion, according to the United Nations (UN).

As of 2023, Ukraine had 36.7 million inhabitants, according to the UN Population Fund.

By comparison, 30 years ago the population of Ukraine was 51.7 million.

Bringing Ukrainians home

"Multiple citizenship will enable [Ukrainians] to have their own home that they can always go back to," Pavlo Sadokha, vice president of the Ukrainian World Congress in Western Europe, told Kontur.

The Ukrainian World Congress for over a year has been advocating for the legalization of multiple citizenship in Ukraine.

The new law will be an additional unifying factor for the 65 million Ukrainians who live in Ukraine or abroad, said Sadokha.

But most important, the law would solve the issue of Ukrainian wartime refugees, as EU countries have given them temporary asylum that is currently scheduled to remain in effect until 2025, he said.

"We now have six million displaced persons. The recipient countries will compel them to legalize their status -- meaning, take steps to gain citizenship in the country they're living in."

"We need to do everything we can not to lose these people for Ukraine. If Ukraine doesn't remedy the issue of multiple citizenship, we'll lose several million citizens," he said.

Offering dual citizenship could help draw more ethnic Ukrainians back to rebuild Ukraine, he added.

"For Ukrainians abroad, this is motivation to work for Ukraine. Holding on to citizenship will offer advantages in investing in Ukraine's economy," Sadokha said.

The draft law would also allow foreigners who are fighting for Ukraine against the Russian invasion to obtain Ukrainian citizenship.

"People have been waiting for years to get this citizenship. They have been fighting on Ukraine's side, practically since 2014," Ihor Reiterovych, a political scientist and director of political and legal programs of the Ukrainian Center of Social Development, told Kontur.

"It's clear that these issues need to be resolved once and for all for them. Under these circumstances, this law is appropriate," he said.

Multiple citizenship is a common practice in developed countries. It is the norm in many EU states, the United States and the United Kingdom, Reiterovych noted.

What are the risks?

Some observers are wary of the risks of multiple citizenship.

Citizenship carries not only rights but also obligations, said Tatyana Ivanova, a rights activist and lawyer who defends the rights of troops and internally displaced persons.

The draft law could generate a host of conflicts and fail to solve problems, especially amid a war, she said.

"Everything functions in other countries because they don't have the problems Ukraine is facing," Ivanova, a former member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, told Kontur.

"They don't have problems with protecting the right to own property or protecting human rights. Ukraine first needs to do its homework on domestic reform, and then it can look at these issues."

Another risk of dual citizenship for the state is citizens' political rights, Ivanova added. Ukraine needs to be sure that the countries where Ukrainian citizens will now be living will always be friendly to Ukraine.

Moreover, there could be conflicts with voting because Ukrainian electoral districts are not scattered around the world, she said.

"If foreign citizens gain the right to vote here, they'll go to polling stations [in Ukraine] and say, put us on the rolls. This law could generate major conflicts," Ivanova said.

"This law is needed and helpful, but a lot of homework needs to be done to make it happen. For that, significant reforms must [occur] in Ukraine," Ivanova said.