A Tale of Two Citizenships
Channel: ThinkTech Hawaii
Date: 2017-03-27

Ray Tsuchiyama, who has lived and worked for two decades in Japan, appears on Law Across the Sea with Mark Shklov to discuss dual nationality/citizenship.   Ray shares his personal experience and his insights on nationality and citizenship issues in the U.S. and globally. 

In the U.S., perhaps tens of millions of US citizens have dual nationality/citizenship, the majority through a parent or birth (Canada and Mexico constitute most of the second passports).  The media has featured some U.S. citizens who are so alienated from the current political climate that they are considering relocation to a "new" country/"haven", e.g. New Zealand.   2016 U.S. presidential contender, Senator Ted Cruz, who was born in Calgary, Canada, had dual nationality (Canada/USA) and only renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2013.  Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger was a citizen of both the U.S. and Austria.   Although there is no U.S. law against a dual citizen becoming President,  there is the impression that a dual citizen is not a "true" loyal American.  Dual citizenship and national loyalty are not just U.S. issues.  United Kingdom Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, was born in New York City,  paid U.S. taxes as late as 2015, and renounced his US citizenship recently.  The leading Japanese opposition party leader Renho Murata has renounced her dual Taiwanese citizenship, as well.  What makes dual nationality/citizenship murky is that no international convention exists which determines the citizen status of an individual-- "national" laws define a "citizen", which varies and can be inconsistent between or among countries.  What are some advantages of two or more passports?  Do disadvantages outweigh the positives: possible military conscription, security concerns, and the big issue -- taxes? 

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