Does Moldova allow dual citizenship

This article is intended for people who have legal grounds and desire to acquire Moldovan citizenship, but are wondering if it is allowed to have dual citizenship in Moldova, in other words, whether they will be able to keep the citizenship they have at the moment.
This question could be answered simply, yes – it is allowed, however, we decided to inform the readers of our blog in more detail.

What is Dual Citizenship

Multiple citizenship is a situation in which a person is treated as a citizen under the laws of more than one country.
Dual citizenship or bipatrism, in turn, is the most well-known form of multiple citizenship, since there are no provisions in international law that prohibit someone from having the citizenship of two states.
Multiple citizenship exists only because different countries may have different, not necessarily exclusive, criteria for granting citizenship. Therefore, a person can become a citizen of several countries because states, not individuals, decide who is a citizen and who is not.
Accordingly, since each country decides for itself who is its citizen based only on its own laws and ignores the laws of other countries, then an individual can be considered a citizen of two or more countries, even if some of these countries prohibit dual or multiple citizenship.

Dual citizenship in Moldova

The legislation of the Republic of Moldova allows dual citizenship and does not set limits on the number of citizenships that a citizen of the Republic of Moldova can have.

Thus, in the Republic of Moldova, multiple citizenship is allowed:
a) for children who automatically acquired at birth the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and the citizenship of another state;
b) for persons who are citizens of the Republic of Moldova and at the same time have the citizenship of another state, if this citizenship is acquired automatically as a result of marriage;
c) for children – citizens of the Republic of Moldova who acquired the citizenship of another state as a result of adoption;
d) if the existence of another citizenship results from international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party;
e) if the renunciation or loss of the citizenship of another State is not possible or cannot be reasonably demanded.

At first glance, the above provisions of the Law on Citizenship do not provide explanations for those cases when a citizen of another state also acquires Moldovan citizenship.
However, this situation falls under the provisions of paragraphs d) and e).
First, because this situation is provided for by international treaties and directly by the provisions of the European Convention on Nationality, which was ratified by the Republic of Moldova. According to the convention, a State Party shall not make the renunciation or loss of another nationality a condition for the acquisition or retention of its nationality where such renunciation or loss is not possible or cannot reasonably be required.
Secondly, because the legislation of the Republic of Moldova itself has been brought into line with the provisions of international conventions to which it is a party, which is clearly seen from the provisions of paragraph e).

Thus, in the case when a foreign citizen acquires the citizenship of Moldova on other grounds than those specified in paragraphs a), b) and c), for example, by descent, then the Republic of Moldova must have good reasons to demand from him to renounce the citizenship of another state.

At the same time, the law also provides for cases of acquisition of citizenship of other states by citizens of the Republic of Moldova and does not limit them in this, giving a clear formulation, and directly that – the acquisition by a citizen of the Republic of Moldova of citizenship of another state does not entail the loss of citizenship of the Republic of Moldova.

If you need legal advice regarding obtaining Moldovan citizenship, please call us to discuss your issue.