Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turkovic held a meeting on Thursday in Vienna with Minister of Justice of the Republic of Austria Alma Zadic, where they discussed the issue of dual citizenship, the migrant crisis and the rule of law.
Turkovic noted that about 170,000 citizens of BiH origin live in Austria and that almost half of them had to give up their BiH citizenship when obtaining Austrian citizenship.
Turkovic asked Zadic to do an inquiry about whether it would be possible for Bosnians living in Austria to keep the right to dual citizenship and what the legal possibilities are in this regard.
Minister Turkovic highlighted that this issue is extremely important, because of the preservation of ties with the homeland, but also because of complications when it comes to property rights, inheritance and taxes. She added that she believes that other countries of the former Yugoslavia share the same opinion.
Minister Zadic said that she fully understands the situation and that many people do not want to give up their original citizenship, because they want to be involved in the processes in their home country.
She promised to refer these issues to the ministries of interior and foreign affairs. She believes that this issue requires greater legal reform, and if it happens, it cannot be done for just one country. She added that she would examine the mood in the Austrian government on this issue.
