Dual citizenship: Will it meet expectations of beneficiaries?
Jun 02, 2009
My sister is among the over 500,000 Ugandans living abroad and having foreign citizenship. To her and many others, the recent passing of the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (amendment) Bill, 2008 could not have come at a better time.
By Crispy Kaheru
My sister is among the over 500,000 Ugandans living abroad and having foreign citizenship. To her and many others, the recent passing of the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (amendment) Bill, 2008 could not have come at a better time.
Her excitement stems from looking forward to participating in the country’s electoral process, having security of residence, property, employment and, of course, not hustling any more with the long queues at Entebbe Airport to get a Ugandan visa on arrival.
For other career-minded Ugandans like me, this law creates flexibility to apply for the European citizenship and be able to work with high profile organisations like the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions or the Freedom of the Media Organisation, which are restricted to recruiting only European Union (EU) nationals.
These and many more similar sentiments are shared by thousands of Ugandans all over Europe, the US, Asia and other parts of the world. With this new law, several positive things can be anticipated. Ugandans living abroad have been sending home about $800m (sh1.8 trillion) annually. With increased security of citizenship, this is likely to increase.
The new legislation might also mark the beginning of the return of those countrymen and ladies who had renounced their Ugandan citizenship in favour of other nationalities.
With this law in place, those with dual citizenship will have the opportunity to come home and exercise their voting rights, unlike in the past where this was unthought of for a person who does not hold Ugandan citizenship.
There is high optimism that the bill will increase opportunities for Ugandans to compete and build contacts locally and globally. Some countries like Canada, Egypt and many EU member states have profited from the dual citizenship arrangement. In other countries, however, the opportunities have been confronted by skepticism and doubt from the beneficiaries.
In Ghana for instance, the passing of the 2001 dual citizenship law was received with mixed feelings. The law contained a number of bottlenecks, including preventing dual citizens from holding certain political and administrative positions.
This was described as second-class citizenship and has, up to now, been rejected by most Ghanaians abroad. Most of them contended that rights are rights and there should not be any form of restrictions. Such scenarios should serve as pointers to Uganda’s policy makers and implementers.
Much as the policy is good and timely, its survival and impact will heavily depend on the way it is perceived and the extent to which the Government elaborates it to the intended beneficiaries. Despite the already highlighted shortcoming in the bill, it seems the Government has realised the need to re-establish the citizenship of Ugandans living abroad.
Whilst the positive reaction of Ugandans abroad is fundamental to the success of this policy, it is vital for local leaders — ministers, parliamentarians and other opinion leaders — to share the convictions and to consistently reinforce the case for dual nationality.
Keeping nationals in the diaspora updated on the policy is essential for its success. The already witnessed Government’s commitment to pass the bill will, hopefully, create the climate for the policy to thrive and for the beneficiaries to exploit the opportunities that come with it.
The writer is a Ugandan student at the International University Centre for Peace Missions, Madrid, Spain
My sister is among the over 500,000 Ugandans living abroad and having foreign citizenship. To her and many others, the recent passing of the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control (amendment) Bill, 2008 could not have come at a better time.
Her excitement stems from looking forward to participating in the country’s electoral process, having security of residence, property, employment and, of course, not hustling any more with the long queues at Entebbe Airport to get a Ugandan visa on arrival.
For other career-minded Ugandans like me, this law creates flexibility to apply for the European citizenship and be able to work with high profile organisations like the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions or the Freedom of the Media Organisation, which are restricted to recruiting only European Union (EU) nationals.
These and many more similar sentiments are shared by thousands of Ugandans all over Europe, the US, Asia and other parts of the world. With this new law, several positive things can be anticipated. Ugandans living abroad have been sending home about $800m (sh1.8 trillion) annually. With increased security of citizenship, this is likely to increase.
The new legislation might also mark the beginning of the return of those countrymen and ladies who had renounced their Ugandan citizenship in favour of other nationalities.
With this law in place, those with dual citizenship will have the opportunity to come home and exercise their voting rights, unlike in the past where this was unthought of for a person who does not hold Ugandan citizenship.
There is high optimism that the bill will increase opportunities for Ugandans to compete and build contacts locally and globally. Some countries like Canada, Egypt and many EU member states have profited from the dual citizenship arrangement. In other countries, however, the opportunities have been confronted by skepticism and doubt from the beneficiaries.
In Ghana for instance, the passing of the 2001 dual citizenship law was received with mixed feelings. The law contained a number of bottlenecks, including preventing dual citizens from holding certain political and administrative positions.
This was described as second-class citizenship and has, up to now, been rejected by most Ghanaians abroad. Most of them contended that rights are rights and there should not be any form of restrictions. Such scenarios should serve as pointers to Uganda’s policy makers and implementers.
Much as the policy is good and timely, its survival and impact will heavily depend on the way it is perceived and the extent to which the Government elaborates it to the intended beneficiaries. Despite the already highlighted shortcoming in the bill, it seems the Government has realised the need to re-establish the citizenship of Ugandans living abroad.
Whilst the positive reaction of Ugandans abroad is fundamental to the success of this policy, it is vital for local leaders — ministers, parliamentarians and other opinion leaders — to share the convictions and to consistently reinforce the case for dual nationality.
Keeping nationals in the diaspora updated on the policy is essential for its success. The already witnessed Government’s commitment to pass the bill will, hopefully, create the climate for the policy to thrive and for the beneficiaries to exploit the opportunities that come with it.
The writer is a Ugandan student at the International University Centre for Peace Missions, Madrid, Spain