Citizenship is generally not lost simply because a person lives abroad for a long time, but there are exceptions. The main risks involve countries with specific non-residence rules, restrictions on dual citizenship, or citizenship obtained through fraud, crime, or improper procedures.
Most Citizens Do Not Lose Citizenship by Living Abroad
In most cases, moving abroad or spending a long period outside the home country does not cause a person to lose citizenship.
Citizenship is usually treated as a long-term legal status. Once granted, it normally remains valid unless a specific law or exception applies.
For example, the transcript states that a Canadian citizen generally does not lose Canadian citizenship simply by living outside Canada for a long time.
The general rule is:
- Living abroad usually does not cancel citizenship.
- Being outside the country for years usually does not matter by itself.
- Citizenship is generally more permanent than residency.
- Loss of citizenship is rare unless specific conditions apply.
However, the transcript warns that people should still verify the law of their own country because exceptions exist.
Netherlands as an Exception
The Netherlands is mentioned as one notable exception.
The transcript says Dutch citizens may potentially lose citizenship after about 10 years of non-residence if certain criteria are met.
The rules are described as not entirely straightforward. Some conditions may trigger loss, while other criteria may prevent it.
Because of that, Dutch citizens living abroad should review the specific rules carefully rather than assuming citizenship is permanent in all circumstances.
Dual Citizenship Restrictions
A more common issue is dual citizenship.
Some countries do not allow dual citizenship or restrict it. This can create problems when a person naturalizes in another country.
In some cases, a country may require a person to give up their previous citizenship before granting new citizenship.
In other cases, the original country may treat the acquisition of another citizenship as a reason to invalidate or remove the original citizenship.
However, the transcript notes that enforcement is often complicated because there is generally no central global register showing every citizenship a person holds.
This means one country may not automatically know when a citizen acquires another nationality.
Practical Difference Between Law and Enforcement
The transcript emphasizes that citizenship rules on paper may differ from how they work in practice.
Some countries say they do not allow dual citizenship, but many citizens still hold two passports because the original country does not actively check or enforce the rule.
Ukraine is used as an example.
The transcript says many Ukrainians who moved to Canada became Canadian citizens while still retaining Ukrainian citizenship. In practice, Ukraine may not know that the person acquired Canadian citizenship.
The transcript also notes technicalities in how Ukraine treats dual citizenship: a person may retain another nationality, but Ukraine may not recognize that foreign citizenship while the person is inside Ukraine.
No Global Citizenship Database
There is no general global database that automatically tells every country what citizenships a person holds.
Some countries may share information with each other in specific situations, but broad automatic sharing does not exist in the way many people imagine.
This matters because a person may acquire another citizenship without their original country being notified.
However, this does not mean there is no legal risk. If the original country later discovers the second citizenship and its law prohibits dual nationality, consequences may still be possible depending on the country.
Giving Up Citizenship Can Be Difficult
Some citizenships are difficult to lose or renounce.
The United States is given as an example.
The transcript says U.S. citizenship is hard to give up. A person cannot simply throw away a passport or declare informally that they have abandoned citizenship.
If a person moves to a country that does not allow dual citizenship, such as Singapore or Malaysia, and says they are giving up U.S. citizenship, that may not be enough for U.S. legal purposes.
Formal procedures matter.
This makes dual citizenship rules complicated because one country may demand renunciation while the original country may require a specific formal process before recognizing that renunciation.
Citizenship by Investment and Revocation Risk
Citizenship is generally long-lasting, but some citizenship-by-investment or irregular citizenship cases may carry revocation risk.
The transcript says that once a person obtains citizenship, they usually keep it. But there are exceptions involving:
- Crime
- Fraud
- Improper application
- False information
- Citizenship obtained when the applicant was not legally eligible
- Certain citizenship-by-investment situations
If a person failed to disclose a criminal history or obtained citizenship improperly, the country may later revoke it.
Bulgaria Example
Bulgaria is mentioned as an example of citizenship obtained improperly.
The transcript says that for several years it was possible to obtain Bulgarian citizenship illicitly for around US$5,000. That operation has mostly been shut down.
Some people reportedly lost Bulgarian citizenship later.
The reason given is that there was a period, described as about 10 years, during which citizenship could be invalidated if the person should not have received it, such as because of a criminal past.
The transcript notes that although thousands of people may have obtained citizenship through that path, only some lost it.
When Citizenship May Be Lost
Based on the transcript, possible citizenship-loss scenarios include:
- A country has specific rules cancelling citizenship after long-term non-residence.
- A person acquires another citizenship and the original country prohibits dual citizenship.
- A person formally renounces citizenship.
- Citizenship was obtained through fraud or improper process.
- The applicant hid a criminal record or other disqualifying information.
- A citizenship-by-investment or special citizenship case is later reviewed and revoked.
- A country has a specific statutory period during which citizenship can be invalidated.
Practical Takeaway
Most people do not need to worry that they will lose citizenship simply by living abroad.
However, anyone planning long-term expatriation or second citizenship should check:
- Whether their country has long-term non-residence citizenship-loss rules.
- Whether their country allows dual citizenship.
- Whether acquiring a new nationality automatically affects the old one.
- Whether formal renunciation is required.
- Whether the new country requires proof of giving up the old citizenship.
- Whether the original country will actually recognize the renunciation.
- Whether citizenship was obtained in a way that could later be challenged.
The main lesson is that citizenship is usually durable, but not always absolute. The biggest risks are not ordinary residence abroad, but dual citizenship restrictions, improper citizenship acquisition, undisclosed criminal history, and country-specific loss rules such as the Netherlands’ long-term non-residence provisions.
