It's true. In October, the Constitutional Court of Lithuania (their version of the SCOTUS) decided that no longer can people become citizens of Lithuania without renouncing their previous citizenship (of, say, the US). This decision has sent shockwaves through the diaspora community; the first email I received announcing the decision was entitled "baisus dalykas." This is clearly going to be an issue for a while now (even though the only appeal is a referendum in Lithuania).

In the meantime, I'm trying to compile a reading list of original documents about this case. I haven't really read through all of them yet, but I can give a sneak preview of my opinion: there is no inherent right to dual-citizenship in the Lithuanian constitution, nor does dual-citizenship even make sense in a post-ethnic-state world, such as the one we live in (despite the protests of our elders). The cries and complaints I'm hearing are either anachronistic or reek of entitlement.

In any case, the reading list:

• The decision.
• The press release about the decision.
• Lietuvos rytas article about the decision.
  
• Lithuanian law of citizenship (now ruled unconstitutional).
• Lithuanian constitution. 
• (US) Dual-citizenship FAQ (for a model of dual-citizenship).
• Wikipedia's entry on Dual-citizenship.
• Afroyim v. Rusk, which found the right to dual-citizenship in the 14th Amendment. (Wikipedia entry)

Comments (3)

Robert Marcinkevicius: Entitlement or non-Entitlement?-Counterproductive? I don't understand what the Lithuanian government stands to benefit by keeping this status?.It would seem you would want to encourage as much possible future investment and tax revenue by allowing U.S. citizens the option. Has the government made any official statements about this constitutional basis and are there any attempts being made to change it? This whole thing seems to make no sense.It just seems counterproductive to the future of Lithuania,regardless of whether they are becoming future EU members. 1 2006.12.11 Scott Richman: No Way To Keep Dual Citizenship? I'm a USA citizen, my grandfather was born in Estonia, and my grandmother was born in Lithuania. My family was considering going back to our roots of Europe, and obtain a passport from either Estonia, or Lithuania. It seems that both countries don't allow dual citizenship. Yes in todays world of the EU community this is not a good move for countries to do this. If anyone knows a way in which an American can still keep their USA passport and obtain a Lithuania passport I'd appreciate it if you could email me. I really had my heart on going back to my roots in Europe, but these where my descendants, who later moved to America, where our newer generation comes from, and I don't want to give up my USA citizenship, but I do want to come and live in Europe. Any help possible would be greatly appreciate it. Thank you 2 2007.02.16 Scott Richman: My Email Address I thought in my comment my email address would show up. Here it is for others to see that might know a way how me and my family can have dual citizenship. Šis el. pašto adresas yra apsaugotas nuo automatinių reklaminių žinučių, jums reikia veikiancio Javascript, kad galėtumėte pamatyti adresą Thank you again.... 3 2007.02.16

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