In the first two months of this year, so many Kosovars have given up their citizenship

Forty thousand and 940 was the number of citizens who gave up Kosovo citizenship during 2021. Compared to a year ago, that number was larger for 1,000 and 307 people. Meanwhile, according to data for January and February, on average, Kosovo citizenship has freed about 12 Kosovars a day.

Behar Hazirij, senior media official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, in a proposal for Radio Kosovo, shows the number of those who for various reasons gave up their citizenship.

“As regards the removal of citizens of the Republic of Kosovo from citizenship, according to the Law for Citizenship, during January (February 2022), 706 of the citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo have been released, out of them 341 men and 365 women”, he said.

Hazirij shows that the main reason why Kosovars give up citizenship is the ban on two citizenships in many countries where they live.

“Arsyet why these persons give up the citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo, is because many European Union states do not allow two citizenships, including some states that are not part of the EU. Thus, given that a large number of our citizens have been living for years in these countries and that as a result, they have earned the right to grant citizenship, they are obliged to be set free from previous citizenship if they want to gain that country's citizenship. So the main reason is the ban on two citizenships in many countries”, Haziray claimed.

According to Interior Affairs Ministry data, since 2013, for nine years, 46 thousand and 839 people have been released from Kosovo citizenship. If it is taken for the 2011 census basis, this number is for a thousand and 903 less than the total population of five Kosovo municipalities: Increase, Hani of Elez, Klocott, Partesh, and Ranilulgt.