People wishing to become Czech citizens may be forced to give up their Russian passports
The Czech Republic could soon oblige Russians to give up their passports in order to acquire citizenship of the EU country, daily newspaper Blesk reported on Thursday.
The amendment to the country’s citizenship law is being pushed by the Mayors and Independents (STAN) party. MP Martin Exner reportedly said the condition of single citizenship would apply to all Russian nationals, with the exception of asylum seekers and some other special cases.
The amendment could also include new rules concerning the further extension of temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine.
“We cannot allow that at a time when Russia is taking hostile actions not only against Ukraine, but also against us and other EU countries, its citizens can acquire Czech citizenship, and thus all the rights related to it,” Exner was quoted as saying.
Similarly, Minister of the Interior Vit Rakusan said: “The security situation requires us to respond to the increased number of requests from Russian citizens for our citizenship.”
Statistics by the Interior Ministry reportedly showed that around 5,000 foreigners are granted Czech citizenship every year, most of whom are Ukrainians, Slovaks and Russians. The Ukraine conflict has led to a significant rise in the number of foreigners residing in the EU country.
Foreigners are eligible to file for citizenship after residing in the country for a minimum of ten years and must pass a Czech language test in order to obtain it. Meanwhile, Czech nationals themselves are allowed to obtain dual and multiple citizenships, in line with EU regulations.