Daily News Editorial

Dual Citizenship

19th October 2015

More than two million Sri Lankans are living abroad, of which around 1.5 million are working in regions and countries such as the Middle East, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. They are expatriates who have gone abroad on a temporary basis and retain their Sri Lankan citizenship.

All the others are Sri Lankans who are permanently domiciled abroad, most of whom have obtained the citizenship of their host country. These countries include the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Italy. They are sometimes collectively known as the Sri Lankan Diaspora (let's move away from using the divisive terms Tamil Diaspora and Sinhala Diaspora because they are all Sri Lankans).

The modern world is a melting pot of different cultures and languages. In fact, mankind's very history is basically a story of migration. Sri Lankans are believed to be descendants of a group that arrived here from India. Likewise, migrants have founded entire countries such as USA, Canada and Australia. Migrants enrich the economy, social fabric and culture of the countries they choose to live in.

Over the years, a large number of Sri Lankans, mostly skilled personnel and professionals, have gone in search of greener pastures as they often felt that the prospects are better overseas in terms of finances and career development. A large number of Lankans left our shores after the sordid events of July 1983, when many countries generally opened their borders to its victims and their families.

When one settles down in another country and finally obtains citizenship in that country, the original citizenship usually lapses. Thus if you are a Sri Lankan who obtains full citizenship (as opposed to Permanent Residency) in say, New Zealand, you will no longer be a citizen of Sri Lanka. However, there are many who do not wish to sever their links, including citizenship, with their country of origin for a variety of reasons. Hence the clamour for dual citizenship.

In fact, many Sri Lankans living abroad are now eager to come back to their Motherland especially in the backdrop of peace and recent political transformations, to express their gratitude for nurturing them in their formative years through free education etc. The Government too has invited members of the Lankan Diaspora to settle down here and contribute to the country's forward march. It is no secret that many professionals would have opted to remain here even with lower salaries if at least the country's democratic fundamentals were intact - sadly this was not the case during the last regime which led an assault on human rights, rule of law, supremacy of Judiciary and good governance. Now that these fundamentals have been assured and restored, many professionals who were contemplating migrating have decided to stay back and many of those living abroad have decided to come back.

It was in this context that the new Government re-introduced the dual citizenship scheme which was stopped by the previous Government for reasons unknown. This is a victory for the country and all Sri Lankans domiciled abroad who wish to once again contribute to the country's betterment.

In fact, the Department of Immigration and Emigration has already received about 13,300 dual citizenship applications since it was reintroduced by the present Government. Only 5,000 applications have been taken into consideration and dual citizenship has already been granted to around 800 applicants. Dual citizenship is granted for the applicants from nine countries, namely, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Italy, though there is a possibility of other countries being added in the future.

There are two ways in which this can be done - Section 19 (2) of the Act Number 45 of 1987 makes provisions in respect of a person whose citizenship of Sri Lanka has ceased due to obtaining of citizenship in another country and who thereafter desires to resume the status of a citizen of Sri Lanka and Section 19 (3) of the Act makes provisions in respect of a person who is having a desire to obtain citizenship in another country, while intending to retain the citizenship of Sri Lanka.

This move will no doubt benefit Sri Lanka immensely as expats pick up new skills and areas of expertise in their adopted countries which can prove to be useful for the development process here. While encouraging Lankans now domiciled abroad to settle down here for good, opportunities must be created for expats who cannot do so for whatever reasons, to help their Motherland in some other way. A Fund maintained by the Central Bank can be created to get contributions from those members of the Diaspora who cannot or do not wish to apply for dual citizenship, but who would still like to contribute to worthy causes back home such as developing the education and health sectors. The involvement of all Sri Lankans living abroad in the country's forward march should be actively sought and appreciated.