Problem of "Purchase" of Citizenship: International Legal Aspects
The main purpose of the article is to analyze the ways of obtaining several citizenships as a result of investing or acquiring real estate or assets of national enterprises. The paper gives a classification of countries that provide such opportunity depending on the procedure for obtaining citizenship: whether it occurs immediately after making an investment or obtaining a residence permit and the possibility of the subsequent entry into citizenship after a certain period of time. In the article, these two groups of countries are considered by examples of Dominica, Malta, Cyprus, the United States and Bulgaria. The author emphasizes that the possibility of obtaining several nationalities should be regulated by the national legislation of each country separately. Therefore, the article also gives the position of the Ukrainian legislator on this issue. The paper identifies the main features of citizenship as a legal category, examines its content, as well as defines the main obligations assumed by each other individual and state as a result of the existence of such a legal relationship as citizenship between them. It is also proposed to consider the advantages and disadvantages both for a person seeking two or more citizenships, and for the state of its primary citizenship and the state which grants her second citizenship. The author makes the conclusion that multiple citizenship is an advantage for an individual as a result of expanding his capabilities in different spheres of activity, but the state of primary citizenship suffers only losses in the form of emigration of talented people and the leakage of capital beyond the state.