Renunciation of Citizenship - in Modern Law

In Modern Law

Renunciation of citizenship is particularly relevant in cases of multiple citizenship, given that additional citizenships may be acquired automatically and may be undesirable. Many countries have pragmatic policies that recognize the often arbitrary nature of citizenship claims of other countries and negative consequences, such as loss of security clearance, can mostly be expected only for actively exercising foreign citizenship, for instance by obtaining a foreign passport. People from some countries renounce their citizenship to avoid compulsory military service. However, some people may wish to be free even of the purely theoretical obligations and appearance of dual loyalty that another citizenship implies. In 2006, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, prompted by an international travel requirement in the U.S., renounced the US citizenship he had acquired by birth. He said, "What I want is the right not to have an American passport." Another example may be political refugees who would wish to renounce allegiance to the country from which they escaped.