Dual Citizenship: Common Myths and What the Law Really Says
Holding two passports was once rare and viewed with suspicion. Today it is increasingly common, as countries modernise their laws and global families become the norm. Yet myths around dual citizenship persist, and they stop many eligible people from claiming rights they already have.
Myth one: you must give up your current citizenship
Some states do demand renunciation, but many do not. A large group of countries — including most of the European Union — tolerate or fully accept multiple citizenships. In practice, this means a person can acquire a second citizenship by descent while keeping their existing one, with no ceremony of renunciation and no divided loyalty implied. What matters is checking the rules on both sides: the country granting the new citizenship and the country of the current one.
Myth two: double taxation is automatic
Taxation is usually based on residence, not citizenship. With very few exceptions worldwide, holding a second passport does not by itself create a new tax obligation. Someone who lives and earns in their home country will generally continue paying taxes only there, regardless of how many citizenships they hold. Tax treaties between countries additionally prevent the same income from being taxed twice.
Myth three: obligations outweigh the benefits
Concerns about compulsory military service or bureaucratic burdens are mostly outdated. Conscription has been suspended in the majority of European states, and day-to-day obligations of a non-resident citizen are minimal. Meanwhile, the benefits are tangible: the right to live and work across the EU, access to public universities and healthcare, easier travel, and the ability to pass citizenship on to children.
One practical rule is worth remembering: a country generally treats its dual citizens as its own nationals while they are on its territory. This mainly affects which passport to use at which border and which consulate can assist abroad. For everyday life, the arrangement is straightforward — two sets of rights, used where each applies.
Descent: the quiet path to a second passport
While investment programmes make headlines, most new dual citizens acquire their status through ancestry. If a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent held citizenship of a European country, the law may treat their descendants as citizens by birth. Poland is a prominent example: obtaining Polish citizenship by descent is a confirmation procedure, meaning the state formally recognises a status that has existed all along.
Dual citizenship is not about choosing between identities, and no law requires anyone to feel more of one nationality than another. For most people, it is simply a legal recognition of a family story that spans two countries — with practical advantages attached for them and for generations to come.
