Citizeo
Report

Countries That Do Not Allow Dual Citizenship

Key findings

  • Most countries permit dual or multiple citizenship in some form.
  • Countries that restrict dual citizenship often use different mechanisms: automatic loss after acquiring another citizenship, renunciation requirements at naturalization, age-based choice rules, or domestic disregard of the second nationality.
  • Some countries that expressly prohibit dual citizenship in nearly all cases: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nepal, and Singapore. Austria and Andorra are also strict, though they have important exceptions.

Dual citizenship sounds binary: either a country allows it or it does not. In practice, the answer is messier. Most countries allow dual citizenship in some form. Some countries let people keep multiple citizenships if they received them automatically at birth, but not if they voluntarily naturalize somewhere else. Others require a foreigner to renounce prior citizenship before naturalizing, but do not strip citizens who were born with two nationalities. Some countries "do not recognize" another nationality internally, which is different from prohibiting it.

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Dual citizenship restriction categories

Most restrictive countries fall into one or more of these patterns.

Pattern What it means Why it matters
Automatic loss A citizen may lose that country's citizenship after voluntarily acquiring another citizenship. A person who naturalizes elsewhere may accidentally give up the old citizenship.
Renunciation condition A foreigner must renounce existing citizenships to naturalize. An American may have to choose between U.S. citizenship and the new citizenship.
Choice rule A person born with more than one citizenship must choose one by a certain age. Children with dual citizenship may face a deadline in adulthood.
Non-recognition The country treats the person only as its own citizen while inside its territory. This can affect passports, consular help, military service, and legal duties even when dual citizenship exists in practice.

Countries that restrict dual citizenship

These are countries where dual or multiple citizenship is generally not a viable strategy without an exception, waiver, treaty, permission, or special status.

Country Basic rule Practical meaning
Andorra Dual nationality is generally forbidden. Naturalization is usually tied to renouncing prior citizenship. Ordinary naturalization is not a "keep both passports" route.
Austria Austrian citizenship is usually lost when an Austrian voluntarily acquires another citizenship without prior permission, and naturalization usually requires renouncing prior citizenship. Strict, but not absolute. Dual citizenship can exist by birth, retention permission, inability to renounce, or special restitution rules for Nazi-persecution victims and descendants.
China The Nationality Law says China does not recognize dual nationality for Chinese nationals; naturalized Chinese citizens cannot retain foreign nationality; Chinese nationals settled abroad who voluntarily acquire foreign nationality automatically lose Chinese nationality. China is one of the clearest no-dual-citizenship systems, though Hong Kong and Macau create practical edge cases around travel documents and nationality declarations.
India India does not offer full dual citizenship. Indian citizens who voluntarily acquire foreign citizenship generally cease to be Indian citizens. OCI is useful, but it is not citizenship. Indian-origin Americans usually compare Indian citizenship against OCI, not dual citizenship.
Indonesia Adult dual citizenship is generally not allowed. Limited dual citizenship can exist for children, but they must later choose. A child may have a temporary dual status; an adult citizenship plan usually requires one nationality.
Japan Japanese nationals who voluntarily acquire foreign nationality lose Japanese nationality, and people with Japanese plus foreign nationality must choose under the Nationality Act. Naturalization generally requires having no nationality or giving up the prior nationality. Japan is not a normal dual-citizenship destination. Descent and birth cases require careful age and family-register review.
Kazakhstan Dual citizenship is prohibited or treated as incompatible with Kazakh citizenship. A second citizenship can create status and documentation problems.
Malaysia Malaysian citizenship law strongly restricts dual nationality, including deprivation risks when a citizen voluntarily acquires or exercises foreign citizenship rights. Adult dual citizenship is generally a red-flag issue, especially where a person is using or claiming another nationality.
Nepal Nepali citizenship generally lapses when a Nepali citizen acquires foreign citizenship. Nepal is a single-citizenship system in practice; non-resident Nepali status is a separate concept.
Singapore Singapore expects single citizenship. Naturalization is completed only after conditions are met, and Singapore citizens who acquire a foreign citizenship may face loss or deprivation rules. Adult dual citizenship is generally not available. Male citizens and permanent residents also need to assess National Service obligations before any renunciation strategy.
Saudi Arabia Saudi law is permission-based: acquiring another citizenship without approval can create loss or withdrawal risk. Treat this as a no-dual-citizenship country unless a Saudi lawyer confirms a specific permission route.

Countries that require renunciation

These countries should not be described simply as "no dual citizenship." They do, however, create real problems for people who want to keep a prior citizenship while naturalizing.

Country Why it is different
Spain Spain permits dual nationality with specific countries, including Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and Portugal. Most other ordinary naturalization applicants are expected to renounce prior nationality. Spanish nationality by origin can be a different analysis.
Netherlands Dutch law has several exceptions, but adult Dutch citizens can lose Dutch nationality when voluntarily acquiring another nationality, and naturalization applicants are often expected to renounce existing nationality unless an exception applies.
Estonia Estonia has strong single-citizenship principles, but citizens by birth have constitutional protection against deprivation. Naturalized citizens and naturalization applicants need separate review.
Lithuania Dual citizenship is constitutionally limited and generally available only in specific statutory categories, including some restoration and exile-descendant cases.
South Korea Multiple nationality is allowed in some categories, but ordinary naturalization and nationality-selection rules can still require renunciation or a pledge not to exercise the foreign nationality in Korea.
Vietnam Vietnamese law has moved toward more exceptions, especially for overseas Vietnamese, but single-citizenship logic and presidential-permission rules still make this a case-specific question.
Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia These are not global no-dual-citizenship countries, but ordinary naturalization may still involve a release or renunciation requirement unless an exception applies.
Israel Israel generally permits dual citizenship, especially under the Law of Return, but ordinary naturalization has a renunciation requirement in principle and the Minister can waive it.

Countries that recently permitted dual citizenship

Some countries that previously restricted or only had a limited recognition of dual citizenship have since changed their rules to be more permissive.

Country Current planning note
Germany Germany's 2024 reform generally allows multiple citizenship.
Norway Norway has allowed dual citizenship since 2020.
Denmark Denmark has allowed dual citizenship since 2015.

Why this matters for Americans

A U.S. citizen does not normally lose U.S. citizenship simply by naturalizing elsewhere. Loss of U.S. citizenship usually requires an explicit expatriating act performed with intent to relinquish U.S. nationality, and renunciation is a formal consular process.

In situations where dual citizenship is problematic or disallowed, the issue is usually with the other country. If the other country requires renunciation, an American may have to decide whether the new citizenship is worth giving up U.S. citizenship.

Practical takeaways

  1. Descent, birth, marriage, restoration, and ordinary naturalization can have different dual-citizenship results in the same country.
  2. A government may tolerate dual citizenship but still require its own passport for entry and exit, deny foreign consular assistance, or restrict public office.
  3. If a pathway depends on naturalization, double-check any renunciation rules before starting on it.
  4. If a pathway depends on descent, check whether citizenship was lost in the family line when someone naturalized elsewhere.
  5. Some countries that previously disallowed dual citizenship have changed their rules to be more permissive.

Sources