The Liechtenstein Parliament is currently working intensively on an amendment to the Civil Rights Act (BüG). The impetus for the planned reform was a parliamentary motion, which should make it possible to acquire dual citizenship by naturalization. 16 out of 25 members of Parliament supported the implementation of the motion. Different approaches were discussed and the government has now submitted a draft-law to the Parliament.

In future, EEA and Swiss nationals should be able to retain their former citizenship after naturalisation. The prerequisite is that dual citizenship is also permitted in the country of origin (principle of reciprocity). Third-country nationals are obliged to give up their former citizenship. This discrimination raised constitutional concerns, so that an expert opinion was commissioned.

This expertise stated, among other things, that in principle to no obligations under international law have to be adhered to. On the one hand, the (international) principle of avoiding dual citizenship is practically obsolete, because attitudes towards dual citizenship have changed fundamentally. On the other hand, nationality does not constitute a connecting factor for possible discrimination within the meaning of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. An amendment of the Civil Rights Act was "merely" subject to the general principle of equal treatment under Article 31 (1) of the Constitution. Unequal treatment based on nationality must be objectively justified and proportionate. Preferential treatment of EEA and Swiss nationals appears unproblematic because of foreign policy interests, cultural and linguistic proximity and thus an increased willingness to assimilate and integrate, as well as legal and economic connection with these states.

The meaningfulness of the reciprocal arrangement of the draft-adaptation was also examined. For this purpose, the legal conditions in all EEA member states and Switzerland regarding the possibility of dual citizenship were processed. Only 8 of the 31 states examined are not subject to reciprocity. However, the neighbouring states Austria and Germany, which are extremely relevant in this context, belong to this minority. When acquiring Liechtenstein citizenship, these citizens will still lose their previous citizenship in future due to the legal situation in their countries of origin. Nevertheless, the Government adheres to the principle of reciprocity in its draft-law.

In parallel the other requirements for naturalisation, which have a potential for abuse, are to be tightened. In addition, the reduction of the minimum residence period from 10 to 5 years in the case of an intact marriage (double counting of the marriage years) is to be abolished as soon as the common domicile ceases to exist or at the latest when divorce proceedings are initiated. Furthermore, the catalogue of questions for the obligatory political science examination on naturalisation is to be revised and extended. The government has decided not to raise the required language level from B2 to B1. However, a corresponding bill for the accompanying measures is still pending.

We will of course be happy to inform you about further developments.

Originally published Naegele, May 2020

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