Liechtensteiner nationality law

From Justapedia, unleashing the power of collective wisdom
Jump to navigation Jump to search
On the Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship
über den Erwerb und Verlust des Landesbürgerrechtes
Coat of arms of Liechtenstein.svg
Landtag of Liechtenstein
CitationLBGl at 1960.023
Territorial extentLiechtenstein
Enacted byLandtag of Liechtenstein
Enacted4 January 1934
Commenced4 January 1934
Status: Amended

Liechtensteiner nationality law details the conditions by which an individual is a national of Liechtenstein. The primary law governing these requirements is the Law on the Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship, which came into force on 4 January 1934.

Liechtenstein is a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA). All Liechtensteiner nationals have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any European Union (EU) or EEA country.

Any person born to at least one Liechtensteiner parent receives citizenship at birth, regardless of the place of birth. Foreign nationals may naturalise after living in the country for at least 10 years, renouncing any previous nationalities, becoming accepted as local citizens of a municipality by popular vote, and demonstrating proficiency in the German language.

History

Until the early 19th century,[1] German lands constituted the core part of the highly decentralised Holy Roman Empire.[2] Each of the roughly 1,800 individual political entities within the Empire had varying (or non-existent) definitions on who they considered to be members of their polity. "Citizenship" in this context was tied to a person's settlement in a particular municipality and individuals found outside of their ordinary places of residence could be deported to other parts of imperial territory.[3]

Local communities in Liechtenstein restricted the number of new citizens with entrance fees that they required for individuals to become municipal citizens. A women who married outside of her village automatically lost her previous municipal rights and her husband was required to pay for her rights in the local community. The fees to bring in a wife from another Liechtenstein municipality were much lower than for a foreign wife. Individuals who were Liechtensteiner subjects but held no municipal citizenship were known as Hintersassen.[4]

The modern concept of citizenship, as a formal and legal relationship between an individual and a state that confers privileges to holders and a status that persists beyond continued territorial residence, emerged during the French Revolution.[5] Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806,[1] this model of citizenship was imported into the German territories that became part of the French-led Confederation of the Rhine, though any applicable legislation from this period was repealed in the 1810s shortly after French defeat in the Napoleonic Wars. Outside of this Confederation, Austria enacted its first codified regulations based on the modern citizenship concept in 1811.[6] Due to the close ties between the Liechtenstein princes and the House of Habsburg, the country adopted the Austrian regulations in local law in 1812.[7]

Acquisition and loss of nationality

Entitlement by descent or adoption

Any person born to at least one parent who is a Liechtensteiner citizen automatically receives Liechtensteiner citizenship at birth. Individuals born to unmarried mothers who are Liechtensteiner citizens also receive citizenship automatically at birth, while those born to unmarried fathers have a right to claim citizenship retroactive to their date of birth. Abandoned children found in the country are presumed to have been born as Liechtensteiner citizens, and adopted children acquire citizenship at the time of adoption.[8]

Voluntary acquisition

Non-citizens who are married to Liechtensteiner citizens may become citizens by facilitated naturalisation after living in the country for at least 10 years. The time of residence after marriage counts as double towards this requirement, making five years the minimum period of domicile. Individuals resident in the country for at least 30 years also hold a right to facilitated naturalisation, with time spent in the country before the age of 20 counting as double. Stateless individuals born in Liechtenstein and who have been resident for least five years are eligible as well. Foreigners who become citizens by marriage also acquire the municipal citizenship of their spouses, while those who were eligible under the residence requirement or by virtue of statelessness become citizens of the municipality where they were last resident.[9]

Foreigners not eligible for facilitated naturalisation become qualified to apply through the standard procedure after 10 years of residence. Applicants must petition a local municipality to grant them local citizenship rights through a public ballot. Candidates who actively participate in community life are more likely to be accepted, though this is not guaranteed. Local residents are unlikely to vote in favour of granting citizenship to anyone not resident for at least 30 years. In 2012, 119 people were naturalised but only one person acquired citizenship by popular vote. All applicants of both facilitated and standard naturalisation processes are required to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the German language (at least at the B1 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and renounce all previous nationalities.[10]

Relinquishment and deprivation

Liechtensteiner citizenship can be relinquished by making a declaration of renunciation, provided that the declarant already possesses or intends to acquire another nationality. Minor children of a person who gave up citizenship also cease to be citizens. Naturalised citizens may be stripped of their citizenship within five years of having acquired it if they have been found to not have actually met the naturalisation requirements. Citizenship may be deprived at any time from a person who fraudulently acquired it.[11]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Croxton 2013, p. 356.
  2. ^ Croxton 2013, pp. 27–28.
  3. ^ Fahrmeir 1997, pp. 724, 726.
  4. ^ Sochin D'Elia 2013, p. 2.
  5. ^ Vogt 1996, pp. 126–127.
  6. ^ Fahrmeir 1997, pp. 722, 725.
  7. ^ Sochin D'Elia 2013, pp. 2–3.
  8. ^ Sochin D'Elia 2013, p. 12.
  9. ^ Sochin D'Elia 2013, p. 13.
  10. ^ Sochin D'Elia 2013, pp. 13–14.
  11. ^ Sochin D'Elia 2013, pp. 14–15.

Sources

  • Croxton, Derek (2013). Westphalia: The Last Christian Peace. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9781137333339. ISBN 978-1-349-46220-9.
  • Fahrmeir, Andreas K. (September 1997). "Nineteenth-Century German Citizenships: A Reconsideration". The Historical Journal. Cambridge University Press. 40 (3): 721–752. doi:10.1017/S0018246X97007383. JSTOR 2639885. S2CID 159855207.
  • Sochin D'Elia, Martina (December 2013). Country report: Liechtenstein (Report). European University Institute. hdl:1814/60233.
  • Vogt, Emily A. (April 1996). "Civilisation and Kultur: keywords in the history of French and German citizenship". Ecumene. SAGE Publishing. 3 (2): 125–145. doi:10.1177/147447409600300201. JSTOR 44252289. S2CID 162636715.