Citizeo
Report

Citizenship Obligations Abroad

Key findings

  • For some countries, citizenship can carry duties even when a person does not live in the country.
  • The clearest tax and financial-reporting example is the United States. Eritrea is the clearest diaspora tax example, and Myanmar, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan have other tax considerations.
  • Military and national service can be an issue for younger citizens, especially male citizens, dual citizens, and people who claim citizenship by descent.
  • Brazil is an example of layered obligations: military status paperwork for men and electoral obligations for many adult citizens abroad.

Second citizenship is often framed as a freedom: another passport, another place to live, another legal home. That is broadly true, but it's important to recognize that citizenship can come with additional responsibilities or obligations. Some countries attach taxes, financial reporting, military service, voting duties, passport-use rules, registration duties, or legal restrictions to citizenship even when the person lives somewhere else.

Curious to see what options are available to you? Start pathway discovery to see which citizenship and residency pathways match your situation.

Types of obligations

There are several different types of obligations that can affect a citizen while they live outside the country, or that can create consequences when they return, renew a passport, register a child, apply for public documents, vote, or try to renounce citizenship later.

Obligation type What it can look like Why it matters
Tax and financial reporting Filing tax returns, reporting foreign accounts, paying diaspora tax, or reporting foreign assets. A passport can create annual compliance work even with no local residence.
Military or national service Conscription, reserve duty, registration, exit permits, travel permits, or service-before-renunciation rules. This can affect young citizens, dual citizens, and children who acquire citizenship by descent.
Civic duties Voting, election registration, justifying missed votes, or keeping electoral status current. Missed civic duties can create fines or document problems.
Passport and entry rules Requirement to enter or leave on that country's passport, or limits on foreign consular protection while in the country. A dual citizen may not be able to behave like a foreign visitor in their other country.
Legal and security duties Restrictions on travel to certain countries, public-office limits, military-status certificates, or civil registration duties. These duties may be triggered only when the person interacts with the country.

Countries with obligations for citizens living abroad

These countries have special responsibilities or obligations for some of their citizens, even while based abroad. It's important to note that these may not apply to all citizens.

Country Obligation type Who should check carefully Practical issue
United States Tax and financial reporting U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad, including dual citizens. U.S. citizens abroad generally remain subject to U.S. tax rules on worldwide income and may have FBAR and other reporting duties.
Eritrea Diaspora tax and national-service risk Eritrean citizens and some people treated as Eritrean by the state. Eritrea is widely associated with a 2 percent diaspora tax and serious national-service concerns. Collection practices abroad have drawn U.N. criticism.
Myanmar Tax review flag Myanmar citizens living and earning abroad. Myanmar has become a citizenship-based tax review flag for nonresident citizens, especially foreign salary and foreign income issues.
Brazil Military paperwork and voting Male Brazilian citizens, and adult citizens registered to vote abroad. Men may need military-status paperwork; adult citizens abroad may need to vote or justify absence in presidential elections.
Israel Military and reserve service Israeli citizens, especially citizens of draft age, new immigrants, and citizens who grew up abroad. Israeli military-status rules can follow citizens abroad and may need to be handled before return visits or long-term residence.
South Korea Military service and travel permits Male Korean citizens, dual citizens, and overseas Koreans with Korean nationality. Military service, overseas travel permits, and nationality-choice rules can create major planning issues.
Singapore National Service Male Singapore citizens and second-generation permanent residents, including those abroad. National Service obligations can affect exit permits, renunciation timing, and future travel or status in Singapore.
Taiwan Military service Male nationals with household registration in Taiwan, and some people who establish household registration later. Military service risk often turns on household-registration status, age, and length of stay in Taiwan.
Greece Military service Male Greek citizens, including citizens by descent. Permanent residents abroad may have deferment options, but the duty should be checked before return or document planning.
Turkey Military service Male Turkish citizens, including dual citizens and citizens abroad. Turkish citizens abroad may need to use consular procedures, deferment, paid-service, or recognition of prior service.
Finland Military or civilian service Male Finnish citizens, including some dual citizens abroad. Citizens abroad can still have service-status questions, though residence abroad and foreign service may create exceptions.

Tax and financial reporting obligations

Most countries tax individuals based on residence, not citizenship. That is why an American who becomes Italian, Irish, Portuguese, or Mexican usually does not take on a new annual tax-filing duty merely by holding that passport while living in the United States.

However, a few countries are different enough to deserve special attention.

Country What to check
United States U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad generally must file under the same basic rules as people in the United States and are subject to tax on worldwide income. Foreign earned income exclusions, foreign tax credits, and treaty rules can reduce tax, but often require filing to claim.
United States FBAR and other foreign-asset reporting can apply even when foreign accounts produce no taxable income.
Eritrea Eritrea is associated with a 2 percent diaspora tax on Eritreans abroad. The issue is unusually sensitive because international criticism has focused on coercive or illicit collection practices outside Eritrea.
Myanmar Myanmar is a current tax-review flag because recent tax-law changes have been reported to reach certain foreign earnings of nonresident citizens.
Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan These are countries where citizenship can matter for foreign income in some circumstances. Treaty residence, dual nationality, and local definitions can change the answer.

Military and national service obligations

Military obligations are often more route-specific than tax obligations. They may depend on sex, age, where the person was born, whether they have household registration, whether they lived in the country as a child, whether they used a national passport, or whether they already completed service elsewhere.

For people claiming citizenship by descent, this matters most for children and young adults. A child may receive citizenship automatically or through registration, but that same act can also put the child into a military-status system later.

Country What to check
Brazil Male Brazilian citizens should check military enlistment and military-status documents, including if they live abroad. Military regularity can matter for passports and other civil acts.
Finland Male Finnish citizens are generally subject to military or civilian service. Citizens abroad and dual nationals may have exceptions, especially after long residence abroad or prior foreign service, but status should be confirmed.
Greece Male Greek citizens should check service, deferment, permanent-resident-abroad status, and return-visit rules. Greek citizenship by descent can create a status issue even when the person has never lived in Greece.
Israel Military obligations can affect Israeli citizens, including some citizens who live abroad or immigrate to Israel. Jewish men and women, and Druze and Circassian men, are the core conscription groups, but exemptions, deferrals, new-immigrant rules, and reserve duties require specific review.
South Korea Male Korean citizens should check military service, overseas travel permits, and nationality-choice rules. Dual nationality does not automatically solve the issue and can make timing more important.
Singapore Male Singapore citizens and second-generation permanent residents can have National Service obligations even if living abroad. Exit permits, deferment, and renunciation planning are high-stakes.
Taiwan Military service risk usually turns on whether the person is a male national with household registration in Taiwan. Nationals without household registration are a different category, but establishing household registration can change rights and duties.
Turkey Male Turkish citizens should check registration, deferment, paid military service for citizens abroad, and recognition of completed foreign service where relevant.

Other countries with conscription or reserve systems can also matter for citizens abroad, including Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, and Switzerland. In many of these countries, nonresident citizens are not treated the same as resident citizens, but a person who returns, registers, or remains on a population register may become exposed to service or reserve rules.

Civic and electoral obligations

Citizenship can also bring civic duties. These are usually lighter than tax or military obligations, but they can still block documents, create fines, or require periodic administration.

Brazil is the clearest example for this report. Brazilian citizens living abroad who are over 18 still have electoral obligations. The Superior Electoral Court explains that voting is mandatory for literate Brazilians from 18 to 70, optional for 16- and 17-year-olds, people over 70, and people who are illiterate. For voters registered in the overseas electoral zone, the vote is required only for president and vice president elections. Missed votes may require justification or payment of fines, and electoral regularity can matter for passport issuance, with exceptions for identification and return to Brazil.

Other compulsory-voting countries should be checked case by case. The important question is not only whether voting is compulsory inside the country. It is whether citizens abroad are registered, whether they are required to vote from abroad, whether they can justify absence, and whether missed votes affect passports or civil documents.

Passport, entry, and local-law obligations

Dual citizens often assume they can choose which citizenship to use. That is not always true.

Some countries require their citizens, including dual citizens, to use the national passport when entering or leaving that country. The United States is a common example: U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, are generally expected to use a U.S. passport when entering or leaving the United States. Other countries apply similar "local citizen first" rules or treat dual citizens only as local citizens while inside the country.

This can matter even when there is no tax or military issue:

  1. A dual citizen may not be able to enter on the other passport as a tourist.
  2. A foreign embassy may not be able to provide normal consular help while the person is in the country of their other citizenship.
  3. The country may require civil registration, local identity documents, or national passport renewal before other services are available.
  4. Some countries restrict travel by citizens to enemy states, sanctioned states, or conflict zones.
  5. Some countries limit public office, security-sensitive work, or military roles for dual citizens.

What usually does not follow citizenship alone

Many obligations people worry about are usually residence-based, not citizenship-based.

Issue Usual rule What to verify
Ordinary income tax Usually based on tax residence, local-source income, or both. The United States, Eritrea, and a few specialist-review countries are exceptions or partial exceptions.
Social security contributions Usually tied to employment, self-employment, or residence. Remote work and employer location can change the answer.
Jury duty Usually tied to residence or voter registration. A citizen abroad usually is not summoned unless still registered locally.
Healthcare contributions Usually tied to residence, insurance registration, employment, or income source. Some countries link health-system obligations to tax residence or local registration.
Local civil defense or emergency duties Usually territorial. Some countries have reserve or mobilization systems that can reach citizens after return.

Practical questions before claiming or naturalizing

Before starting on a citizenship pathway, ask:

  1. Does the obligation attach to citizens, residents, registered residents, nationals with household registration, or people physically present in the country?
  2. Does it apply by age, sex, marital status, parenthood, health, student status, or prior service?
  3. Does citizenship by descent trigger the duty immediately, or only after registration, passport issuance, residence, or household registration?
  4. Can the duty be deferred while living abroad?
  5. Is there a certificate, permit, or regularity document needed to renew a passport?
  6. Can prior military service in another country count?
  7. Does renunciation require completing military service, tax filings, or other obligations first?
  8. Could the duty apply to children who acquire citizenship through a parent?
  9. Does the country require citizens to use its passport when entering or leaving?
  10. Are there tax filings, financial-account reports, or asset reports even when no tax is owed?

Why this matters for Americans

For most Americans, the United States remains the major ongoing obligation even after a second citizenship is acquired. U.S. tax and reporting duties do not disappear because the person also becomes Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Mexican, Canadian, Brazilian, or Israeli.

The other citizenship can still matter. A Brazilian citizenship claim may raise military-paperwork and voting issues. A South Korean, Singaporean, Israeli, Greek, Turkish, Finnish, or Taiwanese claim may raise military-status questions for the applicant or their children. A citizenship that looks easy on paper can become much less simple if the citizenship is for a teenage son, a dual citizen approaching nationality-choice age, or a parent registering a child abroad.

Sources