- This article is about the Right of return. For the
Israeli right of return, see Law of
Return. For the concept in the context of the
Arab–Israeli conflict, see Palestinian right of
return.
The term
right of return refers to a principle of
international law, codified in the
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the
International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, giving any person the
right to return and re-enter his country of origin. This principle
is sometimes reflected in special consideration in a country's
immigration laws (called "
repatriation") which facilitate or
encourage the reunion of a
diaspora or
dispersed ethnic population.
Background
The
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) article 13 states that
"[e]veryone has the right to freedom of movement and residence
within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave
any country, including his own, and
to return to his
country." (emphasis added). There is disagreement as to what
this actually means in practice as well as whether
country
refers to a state or a specific area of land. In addition, the
change from
State to
country from the first
sentence to the second clouds the issue.
Much of the controversy surrounding such a right, however, derives
from disagreement surrounding what in UDHR article 13 is referred
to as "his own". Because many countries are nation-states
predicated on the right to national self-determination, such
countries often identify a special link between them and persons
identified with the nation, or people, whose self-determination
that country enables. National laws implementing a "right of
return" tend to be predicated on that link. Because they give
people of a certain background preferential immigration, however,
such laws are controversial, especially where they are perceived to
be at the expense of other people who want to immigrate.
Some countries, such as the Philippines, have devised means to
"reacquire" or retain former citizens who lost their citizenship
upon accession to another country, particularly to recover the
contributions and potential investment opportunities of former
citizens abroad. Schemes such as these bear some resemblance to
right of return plans, because they highlight how a homeland's
motivation to build links of citizenship with diasporas may draw
from potential investment, not just the nation-state's perceived
cultural duty towards one or more particular peoples. Such schemes
do not necessarily constitute rights of return, however,
particularly where they target former citizenship-holders rather
than members of an ethnic group who may never have held
citizenship, or whose diaspora location even predates state
formation.
Choice of a former-citizen scheme, such as the Philippines'
Republic Act 9925 ("Citizenship
Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003"), rather than a right of
return such as those listed below, may be more closely associated
with the historic circumstances of a people's dispersion and of
nation-state formation, respectively, than with principled choices
between them. Use of a right of return is therefore more likely in
nation-states constituted more recently or whose diasporas are
long-standing, and less likely nation-states constituted earlier
and/or whose diasporas were constituted more recently.
Armenia
Article 14
of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia
(1995)
provides that "[i]Individuals of Armenian origin shall acquire
citizenship of the Republic of Armenia through a simplified
procedure." This provision is consistent with the
Declaration on Independence of Armenia, issued by the
Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Armenia in 1989, which declared
at article 4 that "Armenians living abroad are entitled to the
citizenship of the Republic of Armenia".
Belarus
Citizenship act of the Republic of
Belarus
(2002) states that permanent residence term
requirements may be waived for ethnic Belarusians and descendants
of ethnic Belarusians born abroad.
Bulgaria
According
to the Constitution of Bulgaria, Article 25(2): "A person of
Bulgarian
origin shall acquire Bulgarian citizenship through
a facilitated procedure."
Chapter Two of the
Bulgarian Citizenship Act is entitled
"Acquisition of Bulgarian Citizenship". The first section of that
chapter is entitled "Acquisition of Bulgarian Citizenship by
Origin", and provides at article 9 that "[a]ny person ... whose
descent from a Bulgarian citizen has been established by way of a
court ruling shall be a Bulgarian citizen by origin." Separately,
article 15 of the
Act provides that "[a]ny person who is
not a Bulgarian citizen may acquire Bulgarian citizenship ... if
he/she ... is of a Bulgarian origin".
Ethnic Turks who were born to refugees or immigrants from Bulgarian
lands (and thus have Bulgarian origin) also have a right of
return.
People's Republic of China
Chinese
immigration law gives priority to returning
Overseas Chinese — ethnic Chinese
who were living abroad. As a result, practically all
immigrants to China are ethnic Chinese, including many whose
families lived outside of China for generations.
The mainland Chinese government encourages the return of Overseas
Chinese with various incentives not available to others, such as
"tax breaks, high salaries and exemptions from the one-child policy
if they had two children while living abroad".
[15046]
The "rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese" are
afforded special protection according to Articles 50 and 89(12) of
the Chinese Constitution.
[15047]
The term Overseas Chinese may be defined narrowly to refer only to
people of Han ethnicity, or more broadly to refer to members of
other Chinese ethnic groups. As a result of this ambiguity, people
who are not
Han Chinese but were born in
China and subsequently left, including refugees, are not
necessarily eligible for the same preferential treatment.
Republic of China (Taiwan)
The
immigration law of the Republic of China
on Taiwan
gives
priority to returning overseas
Chinese who are not citizens of the People's Republic of China
(mainland Chinese), Chinese who were living abroad, and encourages
their return. Technically, people living in mainland China
are also Republic of China citizens as Republic of China (Taiwan)
has never formally withdrawn its claim for the mainland. They are
not subject to the Taiwanese immigration law, but the "
Act
Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the
Mainland Area", which is however stricter than the immigration
law due to the current relationship between the two governments of
the Chinese nation.
Croatia
The
Croatian
law on citizenship ( ), article 11, defines
emigrants ( ) and gives them privileges by excluding them from
certain conditions imposed on others.
The
Croatian diaspora makes use of
this to obtain
dual citizenship or
to return to Croatia.
Cyprus
In the proposed "Annan Plan" of 2004, the right of return was to be
severely limited in respect to Greek internally displaced
persons/refugees to districts such as Kyrenia,Morphou,Famagusta and
parts of Nicosia despite judgements of the European Court of Human
Rights in cases such as Loizidou and numerous UN resolutions
recognizing the right of return. Two referendums regarding the
"Annan Plan" were held along ethnic lines in April 2004, id est a
single referendum were each citizen was afforded a single vote was
not afforded to the citizens of Cyprus which was overwhelmingly
rejected in the Greek referendum.
The right of return continues to remain as the stumbling block to
the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Czech Republic
In 1995
the Czech
Republic
amended its
Citizenship Law to provide the
Interior Ministry with the discretion to waive the usual five-year
residency requirement for foreigners that had been resettled in the
Czech Republic by 31 December 1994. This amendment was aimed
particularly at several hundred ethnic Czechs which had been
brought by the Czech government from the Ukrainian region of
Volhynia, and was of a limited
duration.
[15048]
The amendment was consistent with what the Czech Ministry of Labor
and Social Affairs has identified as "the Czech government's policy
principles regarding the resettlement of foreigners of Czech origin
living abroad."
[15049]A private fund, the People In Need Czech
TV
Foundation, worked with government authorities
between 1995 and 2001 to effect this resettlement in the specific
instance of Russian and Kazakh citizens of Czech origin, and had
resettled approximately 750 such persons as of 2000.[15050] The strength or prominence of this policy
within the Czech government may be uneven, however, and the state
appears to have rebuffed dual citizenship overtures from ethnic
Czechs living in the comparatively large diaspora of former Czechs
in Western countries.
Diego Garcia's Chagossians
The
Chagossians, an ethnic group residing on
the island of Diego
Garcia
in the Indian Ocean
, were expelled to Mauritius
in the 1960s, in connection with the erection of an
American
strategic military installation on the
island. Ever since, the Chagossians have been conducting a
persistent political and legal struggle to return to Diego Garcia.
As of 2007, their right to return was recognised by several British
courts but the UK government failed to actually implement it (see
Chagossians,
Depopulation of Diego Garcia,
Order-in-Council#United
Kingdom).
Finland
The
Finnish Aliens Act provides for persons who are of
Finnish origin to receive permanent residence. It is usually
Ingrian Finns from the former Soviet
Union who exercise this right, but United States, Canadian or
Swedish nationals with Finnish ancestry are eligible.
The
Finnish Directorate of Immigration website states on
its
Returnees page that;
- Certain aliens, who have Finnish ancestry or otherwise a close
connection with Finland, may be granted a residence permit on this
basis. No other reason, such as work or study, is required in order
to receive the permit.
- Receiving a residence permit depends on the directness and
closeness of Finnish ancestry. If the ancestry dates back several
generations, a residence permit cannot be granted on this
basis.
- People who may be granted a residence permit based on Finnish
ancestry or close connections with Finland can be divided into the
following three groups:
- former Finnish citizens:
[15051]
- persons of other Finnish origin.
This group includes the persons who have at least one parent or
grandparent who has been a native Finnish citizen. [15052]
- persons from areas of
the former Soviet
Union
. The group includes persons who have been
determined to be of Finnish nationality by Soviet or post-Soviet
authorities or who have at least one parent or two grandparents who
have been determined to be of Finnish nationality in official
documents, e.g. in their internal
passports). Also all persons who were transferred between years
1943–1943 to Finland from
areas occupied by Germany and were subsequently returned to Soviet
Union or who served in the Finnish Defence Forces during the
Second World War qualify. To
qualify for permanent residence permit, the persons in this group
must have a basic knowledge of spoken and written Finnish. The
knowledge is tested in pre-immigration training and in a subsequent
language test. In addition, they must have a pre-arranged permanent
residence in Finland, but the labour authorities assist in finding
an apartment. [15053].
France
What might be historically the first law recognising a Right of
Return was enacted in France in
1790, as part
of the
French Revolution putting a
decisive end to the centuries-long persecution and discrimination
of
Huguenots (French
Protestants).
Concurrently with making all
Protestants
resident in France into full-fledged citizens, the law enacted on
December 15,
1790
stated that : 'All persons born in a foreign country and descending
in any degree of a French man or woman expatriated for religious
reason are declared French nationals (
naturels français)
and will benefit to rights attached to that quality if they come
back to France, establish their domicile there and take the civic
oath.'
As the expulsion of the
Huguenots had taken
place more than a century earlier and there were extensive Huguenot
diasporas in many countries, where they often intermarried with the
population of the host country, the law potentially conferred
French citizenship on numerous Britons, Germans, South Africans and
others - though only a fraction actually took advantage of
it.
Article 4 of the
June 26,
1889 Nationality Law stated that: 'Descendants
of families proscribed by the
revocation of the Edict of
Nantes will continue to benefit from the benefit of the
December 15, 1790 Law, but on the condition that a nominal decree
[i.e., a decree stating the name of the specific applicant for
citizenship] should be issued for every petitioner. That decree
will only produce its effects for the future'.
Foreign descendants of Huguenots lost the automatic right to French
citizenship in
1945 (by force of the
ordonnance du 19 octobre 1945, revoking the 1889
Nationality Law). Many German descendants of Huguenots had become
assimilated in
Nazi Germany; France,
just liberated from Nazi occupation, was unwilling to leave them
the option of becoming its citizens.
See
Huguenot#End of persecution and restoration of French
Citizenship.
Germany
German
law allows
persons of German descent living in Eastern Europe (Aussiedler/Spätaussiedler ("late emigrants";
:de:Aussiedler), see History of German
settlement in Eastern Europe) to return to Germany and claim
German citizenship. As with many legal implementations of
the Right of Return, the "return" to Germany of individuals who may
never have lived in Germany based on their ethnic origin has been
controversial. The law is codified in Article 116 of the
Basic Law for the
Federal Republic of Germany, which provides access to German
citizenship for anyone "who has been admitted to the territory of
the German Reich within the boundaries of December 31, 1937 as a
refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or
descendant of such person".
[15054]
The historic context for Article 116 was the eviction, following
World War II, of an estimated 9 million
ethnic Germans from other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Another 9 million Germans from
former eastern German provinces,
over which
Stalin and eastern neighbour
states extended military hegemony in 1945, were
expelled as well.
These expellees and refugees (known as
Heimatvertriebene) were given refugee
status and documents and resettled by Germany;
discussion of possible compensation
is ongoing.
Some German expellees desire to resettle in
their territories of birth, youth and early life, but legal
procedures often make remigration difficult, even after Poland
and the
Czech
Republic joined the
European Union.
Greece
Various phenomena throughout Greek history (the extensive
colonization by classical Greek city states, the vast expansion of
Greek culture in Hellenistic times, the large dominions at times
held by the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire, and the energetic
trading activity by Greeks under the Ottomans) all tended to create
Greek communities far beyond the boundaries of modern Greece.
Recognizing this situation, Greece grants citizenship to broad
categories of people of alleged ethnic Greek ancestry who are
members of the Greek diaspora, including individuals and families
whose ancestors have been resident in diaspora communities outside
the modern state of Greece for centuries or millennia(
[15055])
"Foreign persons of Greek origin", who neither live in Greece nor
hold Greek citizenship nor were necessarily born there, may become
Greek citizens by enlisting in Greece's military forces, under
article 4 of the
Code of Greek Citizenship, as amended by
the
Acquisition of Greek Nationality by Aliens of Greek Origin
Law (Law 2130/1993). Anyone wishing to do so must present a
number of documents, including "[a]vailable written records ...
proving the Greek origin of the interested person and his
ancestors."
India
A
Person
of Indian Origin (PIO) is a person living outside of India and
without Indian citizenship, but of Indian origin up to four
generations removed. It is available to persons of Indian origin
anywhere in the world as long as they have never been citizens of
Pakistan or of Bangladesh (a reservation excluding Muslims who left
India during the 1947 partition). This unusual type of
citizenship by
descent is an intermediate form of citizenship in that it does
not grant the full portfolio of rights enjoyed by Indian
citizens.
The
Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003 and
Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance 2005 make
provision for an even newer form of Indian nationality, the holders
of which are to be known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).
Overseas citizenship is not substantially different than PIO
rights.
Holding either PIO or OCI status does, however, facilitate access
to full Indian citizenship. An OCI who has been registered for five
years, for instance, need be resident for only one year in India
before becoming a full citizen.
Iraqi Kurdistan
During the years Saddam Hussein controlled Iraq, he instituted a
program of "Arabization" in the northern part of the country, that
area inhabited by ethnic Kurds. This included moving Arabs from the
south and replacing the Kurdish population, in particular the city
of Kirkuk. Now that Saddam is gone, there have been calls by the
Kurdish Regional Government, which administers the autonomous
region, for the return of Kurds to the areas from which they were
removed, especially this city.
Ireland
Irish nationality law provides
for Irish citizenship to be acquired on the basis of at least one
Irish grandparent. If a person outside of Ireland who is entitled
to claim Irish citizenship elects not to, that person may
nonetheless pass that right on to her or his own children, even if
the basis for the entitlement being passed on is a single Irish
grandparent. To do so, that person must register her or his birth
in Ireland's Foreign Births Register.
Separately from this right, the
Irish minister
responsible for immigration may dispense with conditions of
naturalisation to grant citizenship to an applicant who "is of
Irish descent or Irish associations", under section 15 of the
Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1986.
Israel
The
Law of Return is Israeli legislation, enacted in
1950, that gives Jews the right to migrate to
and settle in Israel
and gain
citizenship. A 1970 amendment stated that the rights "are
also vested in a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a
Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild
of a Jew". This resulted in several hundreds of thousands of
persons fitting with the above criteria emigrating to Israel
(mainly from the former Soviet Union) but not being recognised as
Jews by the Israeli religious authorities, which on the basis of
the
halakha recognise only the child of a
Jewish mother as being Jewish. Moreover, some of these immigrants,
though having a Jewish grandparent, are known to be praticing
Christians.
Japan
A special visa category exists exclusively for foreign descendants
of Japanese emigrates (
Nikkeijin) up to
the third generation, which provides for long-term residence,
unrestricted by occupation, but most Nikkeijin cannot automatically
acquire Japanese citizenship.
Lithuania
From the Constitution of Lithuania, Article 32(4): "Every
Lithuanian person may settle in Lithuania."
[15056]
Norway
The
Kola Norwegians were Norwegians who settled along the coastline of the
Russian
Kola
Peninsula
from
approximately 1850 to the closure of the border in the
1920s. It is estimated that around 1000 Norwegians lived on
the Kola peninsula in 1917. The Kola Norwegians were deported to or
put in camps in other parts of Russia during the course of
World War II.
It was only after 1990 that many of the Kola Norwegians again dared
to emphasize their background. Only a few had been able to maintain
a rusty knowledge of Norwegian. Some of them have migrated back to
Norway. There are special provisions in the Norwegian rules of
immigration and citizenship which eases this process for many Kola
Norwegians. These provisions are in general stricter than in some
other countries giving "Right of return". In order to obtain a
permit to immigrate and work in Norway a Kola Norwegian will have
to prove an adequate connection to Norway such as having at least
two grandparents from Norway. Citizenship will then be awarded
according to regular rules. As of 2004 approximately 200 Kola
Norwegians had moved back to Norway.
Palestinian Refugees
Supporters of a Palestinian right of return
argue that both first-generation refugees and their descendants
have a right to return to the homes and villages they left or were
forced to leave in the former British Mandate of Palestine
(currently Israel and Occupied Palestinian
territories
), as result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the
1967 Six-Day war. Article 11 of
the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) is often
cited in support of this claim:
11. Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to
their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be
permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that
compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not
to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under
principles of international law or in equity, should be made good
by the Governments or authorities responsible;
Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the
repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation
of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain
close relations with the Director of the United Nations Relief for
Palestine Refugees and, through him, with the appropriate organs
and agencies of the United Nations;
Opponents of a Palestinian right of return argue that there is no
basis in international law for such a claim..
As a rebuttal to Resolution 194 being used in support, it is
claimed by opponents that
General Assembly resolutions
are non-binding and have no force as international law.
However, UNGA resolutions, although not binding, remind the parties
concerned of the Charter, Laws and previous UNSC Resolutions, which
are binding.
Poland
From the
Constitution of Poland, Article
52(5): "Anyone whose Polish origin has been confirmed in accordance
with statute may settle permanently in Poland."[15057]
Russia
Russia offers citizenship to individuals descended from Russian
ancestors who can demonstrate an affinity for Russian culture and,
preferably, speak Russian. Concern about Russia's shrinking
population prompted the program. Officials estimate that 25 million
members of the Russian diaspora are eligible for citizenship. The
Foreign Ministry has sent emissaries to countries around the world
to urge the descendants of Russian emigrants to return home.
Serbia
Article
23 of the 2004 citizenship law provides that the descendants of
emigrants from Serbia
, or ethnic
Serbs residing abroad, may take up citizenship upon written
declaration.
Spain
There are three categories of Spanish citizenship:
de
origen (original citizenship) which is [almost exclusively]
acquired at the moment of birth, mainly to a Spanish parent, and
which can never be lost; and that which is acquired through a
predetermined period of legal residency in Spain, known as
por
residencia. The distinction is important because Spanish
nationality laws primarily follow
iure sanguinis,
including those relating to the right of return. The third category
is
por opción (by choice), this is given to some people of
Spanish origins that, though not complying with the requisites to
attain the original citizenship, are able to prove close ties to
Spain; this option is given mainly to the children of people that
have attained or recovered Spanish citizenship after their birth,
but it has age limits and one must exercise this choice prior
turning 20 (in some countries, like Argentina, prior turning 23, as
majority of age is attained at 21 there). Most of the
por
opción clauses do not confer original status (except those
included in the Historical Memory Law), thus it can be lost, and,
in case one possesses nationality other than those described below
as historically related to Spain (eg. United States), renounce
their current nationality in front of Spanish consular
officials.
In practice this renounce has little practical effect, and in some
cases null effect, as only renounces made to one's own country's
officials has effect to the linked nationality.
The
Historical Memory Law
(Spanish:
Ley de Memoria Histórica), which will take
effect in December 2008, introduces temporary (two-year) changes to
current Spanish nationality laws. Those whose father or mother were
born original Spaniards (regardless of their place of birth,
whether they are still living, or whether they currently hold
Spanish nationality) and those whose grandparents emigrated due to
political or economic reasons will have the right to
de
origen Spanish nationality. Until and while the Law of
Historic Memory takes effect, the following laws will also
apply:
1. Spanish-born emigrants (mainly
exiles from
the
Spanish Civil War and economic
migrants) and their children are eligible to
recover their
de origen Spanish nationality without the requirement of
residence in Spain. They also have the right to maintain any
current nationality they possess.
2. Regardless of their place of birth, the adult children and
grandchildren of original Spaniards (original Spaniards are those
who, at the moment of their birth, were born to people who
possessed Spanish citizenship) can also access Spanish nationality
on softer terms than other foreigners: they require just 1 year of
legal residence, and they are exempted from work restrictions. This
law in practice also benefits the great-grandchildren of emigrant
Spaniards as long as their grandparents (born outside of Spain)
are/were original Spaniards.
3.
Ibero-Americans and citizens of
other countries historically related to Spain (Portugal, Andorra,
Philippines, and Equatorial Guinea) also have a Right of Return:
They can apply to Spanish nationality after 2 years of Legal
residence (the usual time is 10 years for most foreigners) and they
have the right to keep their birth nationality.
4. Those of
Sephardic Jewish origin
also have the right to apply for nationality after a year of legal
residency in Spain. Upon the rediscovery of
Sephardi Jews during the
campaigns of General
Juan Prim in Northern Africa, the Spanish
governments have taken friendly measures towards the descendants of
the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 under the
Alhambra Decree and persecuted by the
Spanish Inquisition. The
motivation for these measures was a desire to repair a perceived
injustice, the need of a collaborative base of natives in
Spanish Morocco, and an attempt to attract
the sympathy of wealthy European Sephardis like the
Pereira of France. The
Alhambra Decree was revoked.
Spanish diplomacy exercised protection over Sephardis of the
Ottoman Empire and the independent
Balkanic states succeeding it. The government of
Miguel Primo de Rivera decreed in
1924 that every Sephardi could claim Spanish citizenship. This
right was used by some refugees during the Second World War,
including the
Hungarian
Jews saved by
Ángel Sanz
Briz and
Giorgio Perlasca.
This
decree was again put to use to receive some Jews from Sarajevo
during the Bosnian
War.
In
October 2006, the Andalusian
Parliament asked the
three parliamentary groups that form the majority to support an
amendment that would ease the way for morisco descendants to gain
Spanish citizenship. The proposal was originally made by
IULV-CA, the Andalusian branch of the
United Left..
Such a measure might
have benefited about five million Moroccan citizens
, who are considered to be descendants of moriscos,
as well as an indeterminate number of people in Algeria
, Tunisia
, Mauritania
, Libya
, Egypt
and Turkey
.
However, the call went unheeded by the central Spanish authorities
(see
Morisco#Morisco
descendants and Spanish citizenship).
Ukraine
see
Citizenship law of
Ukraine
United Kingdom
The British Nationality Act of 1948 conferred full and equal
citizenship and settlement rights in Britain on all 800 million
subjects of the worldwide British Empire.
The Commonwealth Immigration Act
1968, amending legislation passed in 1962, removed the right of
entry from 200,000 south Asians long resident in British East
Africa who had become the victims of the Africanization drive in
newly independent Kenya
and wished
to move to Britain. The act required "substantial
connection" to Britain, defined as (a) birth or the birth of a
parent or grandparent in the United Kingdom, (b) a parent or
Grandparent who was Naturalised in the United Kingdom, (c) a parent
or grandparent who became a citizen of the United Kingdom or it's
colonies by adoption (d) had acquired British Nationality under
legislation passed in 1948 or 1964. Further provisions extended
rights to step-children. The wording of this legislation refers to
'Citizenship', 'Naturalisation' and 'Residence', and at no point
refers to any specific ethnicity or ethnic group. The act was
intended to protect the right of return of the Britons, (Scottish,
Welsh, and English) who had gone out to the colonies over the
generations, and of their descendents .Announcing his support for
right of return legislation in Britain, MP
Quintin McGarel
Hogg stated that, "All the great nations of the earth have what
the Jews call a Diaspora," and affirmed that nations "special and
residual obligation(s) toward them," which include recognizing
their right to citizenship.
The Immigration Act of 1971 affirmed the principles of the 1968
legislation, giving the right of immigration to the grandchildren
of Britons born in the Commonwealth nations. It was in effect long
enough to enable the descendents of ethnic Britons to return to
Britain from the former colonies.
The British Nationality Act of 1981 differentiated between British
Citizenship, British Overseas Citizenship, and British Dependent
Territory Citizenship, recognizing the right of settlement only for
British citizens. It is notable that it was enacted after the
contraction of the Empire was completed, and haven had been offered
to all substantial populations of descendents of ethnic Britons in
the former colonies.
Other
A
non-exhaustive list of other countries believed to have similar
laws is South
Korea
, Hungary
, Moldova
, Slovakia
, Slovenia
and Ukraine
. Similarly, the Liberian
constitution (currently defunct and being
rewritten) allows only people "of Negro descent" (regardless of
ethno-national affiliation) to become citizens. As with
other laws enacting rights of return, many of the laws in these
countries appear to reflect a desire by governments to guarantee a
safe haven to diaspora populations, particularly those assumed to
be living under precarious conditions.
References
- Armenia Constitution
- Bulgaria Constitution, International
Constitutional Law, University of Bern
- http://www.slate.com/id/2172546/
- Provisions given in addition to the Norwegian law
of Citizenship, point 3.8.4. (Norwegian) Retrieved 11 December
2006
- Norwegian terms of citizenship Retrieved 11 December
2006
- Article in Aftenposten givina some statistics on the Kola
Norwegians (Norwegian) Retrieved 11 December 2006
- The Right to Return of Palestinians in International Law LAWAND
Int J Refugee Law.1996; 8: 532-568,
http://ijrl.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/8/4/532
-
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_194
- http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp485.htm
- "The resolution in question, number 194, was passed by the UN
General Assembly on December 11, 1948, in the midst of the
Arab-Israeli war. The first thing to be noted about it is that,
like all General Assembly resolutions (and unlike Security Council
resolutions), it is an expression of sentiment and carries no
binding force whatsoever. Efraim Karsh, The Palestinians and The 'Right of Return',
Commentary Magazine, May 2001.
- Levy, Clifford J., "A Sturdier Russia Beckons Its Children Home",
New York Times, March 21, 2009.
- Spanish Civil Code of 2002, article 22.
- Propuesta de IU sobre derecho preferente de
moriscos a la nacionalidad
- Piden la nacionalidad española para los
descendientes de moriscos
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.101
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.109
- Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968
http://www.britishcitizen.info/CIA1968.pdf
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.109
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.110
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.110
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.110
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.110
- Joppke, Christian, Immigration and the Naton-State; The
United States, Germany and Great Britain, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1999, p.110
External links
Further reading
- Wall Street Journal, August
11, 2004. War Echo: Ousted by Poland in 1945, Germans Want
Homes Back
See also
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