Dual citizenships have been a topic throughout the region for days. The story started after the last elections in Serbia. Politicians are still debating whether voters from Republika Srpska were the majority in the capital of neighboring Serbia. BiH citizens are not unfamiliar with dual citizenship. Many have them, primarily Serbian or Croatian citizenships. However, the conditions for becoming a citizen in these two countries are different. Many will say that the Croatian rules are much stricter. Many point out that, if you leave the sphere of politics, dual citizenships bring numerous benefits.
Acquiring the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia is not a difficult task. Origin under different conditions is a factor, while foreigners, after reaching the age of 18, can submit a written statement that they consider Serbia their country, while not having to renounce their citizenship, for example Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are many reasons for dual citizenship.
“I have had Serbian citizenship since 2018, when I went on a pilgrimage to Kosovo and Metohija, which was also the reason why I applied for Serbian citizenship in the first place, and took a Serbian passport. At that moment, it was the way I could enter the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, which is not the case at the moment, for which I need a Serbian identity card. I kept the same passport later and that passport meant a lot to me in my subsequent private trips to countries that required a visa for BiH citizens, so I used that replacement passport,” says Tijana Trklja.
Tijana says that many of her friends from Bosnia and Herzegovina have dual citizenships. Business reasons, scholarships, studying. However, the issue of dual citizenship, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been particularly topical and politicized in recent days, and after the elections in Serbia.
“It is important that we in the Republika Srpska get automatic citizenship of Serbia, that this be ensured, and not go through the difficult procedures that are currently in force. That’s why often when I stay and talk with the leadership of Serbia, I always insist on trying to ensure that all citizens of Republika Srpska have automatic citizenship and that would enable greater political and any other kind of integration”, said Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, N1 writes.
For years, it has been an established practice for individuals to take advantage of the benefits of dual citizenship before or after the pronouncement of the verdict. Fleeing from justice in the country where they were convicted, they find a hiding place with a neighbor. They often pass without a court process or with significantly lower penalties. Competent institutions, for now, are not considering changes to existing agreements between states.
Seeking refuge in Bosnia and Herzegovina has become the practice of Branimir Glavaš, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for a war crime in Osijek at a repeated trial.
“I will travel as a free citizen.”
And after a few days he left. Judging by his statuses on social networks, he is back in BiH, in Sarajevo.
“If you’re really interested, I’m sitting in a company with political friends and we’re talking about the upcoming parliamentary elections. The topic is the 11th constituency.”, Glavas said.
The triangle of BiH, Serbia, but also Croatia, a member of the EU, have not found a solution to these problems, experts say. No country is thinking about abolishing dual citizenship. If the fugitive requests execution, the courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina impose a lesser sentence, which is generally lower than in Croatia. That is why the only way is to make agreements that would imitate those from the EU, explains lawyer Ante Nobilo.
“It is a European Arrest Warrant where the courts cooperate directly and where there is no problem to take the defendant and there is simply no hiding.”, said Denis Dzidic, executive director of BIRN.
The Ministry of Justice says that they act in accordance with the Law on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and signed interstate agreements. Although the desired result is missing in practice, changes to the agreement are not being considered for now.
“Changing them is a matter of agreement between the two states, and for that a positive atmosphere must first be created. If the states take a position to review the agreement or change certain parts, the Ministry certainly wants to contribute to that process.”
Thus, there are problems with signed documents when it comes to cases of war crimes, as well as those related to organized crime, say BIRN.
“We see that there are really big political obstructions and that people who have a certain reputation, who are politically connected, very often avoid responsibility and even do very well after fleeing from BiH or Croatia.”, Dzidic said.
That is why stronger pressure from the international community and the EU is necessary, BIRN added, because dual citizenship is widely abused, and countries systematically refuse to cooperate.
