Moldovan citizenship

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The citizens of the Republic of Moldova , which is also called Moldova, have Moldovan citizenship .

The Moldovan nationality law is the only continental European law in which the ius soli has been consistently implemented after the establishment of the new state since 1991 and the extended permission for dual citizenship in 2003 . Citizenship can of course also be acquired according to the principle of descent .

In the 20th century

The mainly Romanian- speaking region, known as Bessarabia , has changed membership of neighboring state associations several times since the end of membership of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. The most drastic were the separation of the Cis-Nistrian territories from the collapsed tsarist empire with subsequent annexation to Romania as a result of the First World War.

At the same time, the Moldovan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic existed as part of the newly formed Ukraine until the 1940s .

As everywhere in Eastern Europe, there was a community of descendants of ethnic Germans who immigrated in the early 19th century . Many of these moved home to the Reich in 1941. Those who remained are considered "Germans within the meaning of Art. 116 (2) " of the Basic Law .

Bessarabia became part of the Soviet Union in 1941. Together with neighboring districts, it was upgraded to the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic . The validity of the Soviet Citizenship Act (No. 198, of Aug. 19, 1938) was extended to Bessarabia and Bukovina by a decree of March 8, 1941.

As in many other parts of the Soviet Union, the circumstances of the time led to tremendous population shifts. Most of the people of Russian origin moved to the region east of the Dniester, which was increasingly industrialized from the 1950s onwards. The "nationality" noted in Soviet national passports became significant after the collapse of the Soviet Union , here "Moldova-Romanian".

After 1991

After independence, the following laws related to citizenship matters were passed:

  • No. 596-XII of June 5, 1991, amended several times in 1993 and 1996. In addition, Parliamentary Resolution No. 1138-XII of Aug. 4, 1992 to clarify unclear points, especially for naturalization on application for those born in other Soviet republics. The right to Moldovan citizenship was later expanded so that all residents on Independence Day became citizens. Dual citizenship was ruled out until 1994, when ex-Soviet citizens born in the country were allowed as an option. It was otherwise excluded by the constitution until 2002.
  • A new Citizenship Act (No. 1024-XIV) was passed on June 2, 2000 and has been amended several times since then.

Automatically a Moldovan citizen is:

  • who had at least one parent or grandparent who was born on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, or
  • who was resident in Bessarabia, North Bukovina or the Herza area before June 28, 1940 . As well as descendants of such persons if they legally reside in Moldova, or
  • Descendants of the aforementioned if they had fled or been deported since June 28, 1940.

Acquisition by birth

Anyone who becomes a Moldovan citizen at birth

  • has a Moldovan parent,
  • Born in the Republic of Moldova as a stateless child or foundling
  • Born in the Republic of Moldova but unable to obtain the citizenship of the parents (and thus would be stateless)
  • is recognized as a child; comes under the care of a Moldovan as a stateless person; or is adopted as a minor, although over 14-year-olds must agree to a change of nationality.

naturalization

Naturalization can become a Moldovan citizen who:

  • can secure his livelihood,
  • has sufficient knowledge of Romanian and the Constitution,
  • is over 18 years old

and:

  • has lived legally in the country for ten years as an adult or five years as a child, or
  • has been married to a Moldovan citizen for three years, or
  • for three years legally living in the country with parents or children who are Moldovan citizens, or
  • has lived legally in the country for eight years as a stateless person or recognized refugee.

The naturalization also extends to minor children, from 14 their consent is required.

Other nationalities must be taken if this is possible and reasonable.

Former Moldovans can apply for their naturalization again, provided they have not committed serious crimes or have not lost their citizenship because they joined a foreign army.

The processing time for an application may not exceed one year. The new citizen has to take an oath of allegiance to make the naturalization effective.

loss

Anyone who accepts another may be released from citizenship upon application.

Withdrawal can take place if the citizen voluntarily joins a foreign army, but only if statelessness does not occur or naturalization has been obtained by fraud. Withdrawal never applies to family members.

Multiple statehood

Multiple citizenship is permissible if additional citizenships were acquired automatically through birth, marriage, adoption, etc., or if an agreement with the relevant state provides for the possibility.

Romania

Moldovans can acquire Romanian citizenship and thus that of the EU under simplified conditions. It is sufficient to prove that at least one grandparent or parent had this nationality in the years 1918-40, when Bessarabia was Romanian. From 1991 to 2012, 335,000 applicants received a Romanian passport in a simplified procedure, which also benefits Ukrainians. In 2011 and 2012 alone, around 152,000 foreigners, mostly from Moldova, were granted citizenship. 112,000 Moldovans applied for a passport.

The introduction of this regulation led to fears in Moldova that a substantial part of the population would “run away” after Romania joined the EU and the free movement of persons came into force. Certain Central European politicians, such as Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) and his colleague Markus Ulbig (CDU), see the practice critically and use it to propagate their xenophobic agenda by stirring up fear. Thousands of Moldovans went to Italy as guest workers, mainly because of the language relationship.

Investors

The so-called “Moldova Citizenship by Investment” has existed since October 2017, which allows foreign investors to be naturalized for comparatively small amounts. This happens either in the form of buying government bonds for € 100,000, plus € 15,000 for each additional family member as a "donation" or by purchasing real estate for € 250,000 or five years of non-salable government bonds. Other investments of € 450,000 for naturalization are also possible. Furthermore, it is required that the applicant is reasonably healthy and innocent.

In addition, processing fees of at least € 5,000 for individuals and less for other family members are due. The procedure awarded to a foreign service provider was criticized as opaque.

In June 2019, the application of the regulation was initially suspended for four months.

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic

The “embassies” of the “states” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Tiraspol. (These two non-recognized states are the only ones where Transnistrian passports are valid for entry.)

Pridnestrovie (PMR), called "Transnistria" from the Moldovan point of view, split off from Moldova in a short war in 1992. At this time the movement to unite Romania and Moldova was strong, and the residents of the strip of land, especially of Russian descent, saw themselves threatened. All residents of the area automatically became citizens after the establishment of the PMR.

The first passport for PMR citizens was issued on October 1, 2001. Up to this point, from the mid-1990s, citizens received, in addition to an existing passport of another state (or a domestic passport of the USSR from the 1974 model), an attachment stating that they were PMR citizenship. De facto, these are ID cards valid in Germany.

As early as 2006, around 350,000 of the approximately 550,000 residents of the PMR also had Moldovan citizenship. In 2009 the number of holders of Russian passports rose from 130,000 to 150,000, plus around 100,000 residents (also) citizens of Ukraine. In the summer of 2019, Russia eased the requirements so that at the end of 2019 an estimated 220,000 PMR residents are (also) Russian citizens.

literature

  • Dom, Rosanna; Fragile loyalty to the Republic of Moldova: Soviet nostalgia and 'homelessness' among Russian and Ukrainian minorities; Berlin 2017 (De Gruyter Oldenbourg), chapter: Citizenship and minority policy in the Republic of Moldova - and its effects.
  • Geilke, Georg; Citizenship law of the Soviet Union including the historical and constitutional development of the most important territorial units and peoples; Frankfurt 1964 (Metzner)
  • Ginsburgs, George; Citizenship Law of the USSR; 1983 (Springer Science & Business); ISBN 978-94-015-1184-1
  • Heintz, Monica; Weak state, uncertain citizenship: Moldova; Frankfurt 2008 (Lang); ISBN 3631576714
  • Iordachi, Constantin; Redobândirea cetăţeniei române: perspective istorice, comparative şi aplicate; ISBN 9786065882751
  • Reinhart Maurach : Citizenship Law of the Soviet Union. Ost-Europa-Verlag, Königsberg i.Pr. 1942
  • Tabachnik, Maxim; Citizenship, territoriality, and post-Soviet nationhood: the politics of birthright citizenship in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova; Cham CH 2019; ISBN 978-3-030-12882-1
  • Wolloch, Erwin; Historical development of citizenship law in Romania; Frankfurt 1988 (Lang); ISBN 3820416544

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prehistory: Principality of Moldova .
  2. ↑ Agreement between the RSFS R. and Romania, Jassy, March 5, 1918 and Odessa, March 9, 1918th
  3. ↑ Materialy po Bessarabskomu voprosu (so dnja Rumynskoj okkupacii) [1918-21]; Berlin-Šarlottenburg 1922 (Odesskij Komitet spasenija Bessarab.)
  4. ↑ Agreement between the German Reich government and the government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the resettlement of the population of German origin from the areas of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina to the German Reich on September 5, 1940.
  5. ↑ Hoffmann, Emil; Thoss, Alfred; The fourth trek: performance u. Return of the Germans from Bessarabia; Berlin 1941 (Nibelungen-Verlag)
  6. ↑ Pampuch, Andreas; Return of the Bessarabia Germans; Breslau 1942 (Schlesien-Verl.)
  7. ^ After the referendum boycotted in Moldova on March 17th, but before the August coup in Moscow .
  8. ↑ engl. translation
  9. ↑ Romania becomes the gateway to the EU
  10. ↑ Ordinance No. 786 of October 4, 2017
  11. ↑ [1]
  12. ↑ Citizenship by Investment Program in Moldova - embracing great opportunities or risks? (2018-12-13). With references to cross connections between the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the service provider Henley & Partners, which also controls the Maltese investor program.
  13. ^ The passport king who markets citizenship for cash (2018-10-16). With references to election manipulation on St. Kitts by Cambridge Analytica (or the parent company SCL Group ) including links to the service provider Henley, which also controls the island's investor program.
  14. ↑ Not to be confused with the Transnistria governorate administered by Romania in 1941-4 .