For years, thousands of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been leaving the country in search of a better life. Many have also renounced BiH citizenship, most often in order to acquire German citizenship. However, although Germany now allows dual citizenship, BiH has still not signed an agreement with Berlin. For more than 30.000 people, this means they still cannot regain BiH citizenship.
In search of a better life, thousands of citizens of BiHa have for years been going abroad. Over one hundred thousand, due to living in other countries – mostly Germany, Austria, or Slovenia – have renounced BiH citizenship. Since the beginning of this year alone, 597 former BiH citizens have done so. However, since Germany now allows dual citizenship, 27-year-old Adem Rizvanovic, after only 8 years of living and working there as a medical technician, decided to apply for citizenship. Still, he is disappointed that the BiH authorities have not yet adopted the Agreement on Dual Citizenship between Germany and BiH.
“By rejecting that Agreement, it is as if BiH is somehow letting it be known that it does not want to accept anyone who has left. It is very important to resolve that agreement, which would mean a lot both for BiH and for the people who are here and who want to have a sense of belonging,” said Adem Rizvanovic, a BiH citizen in Germany.
The House of Representatives of BiH adopted the initiative last year, but it was stopped at the Council of Ministers. The ministers from SNSD were against it. With just a signature or amendments to the Law, it would be possible for 30 thousand who, in order to acquire German citizenship, paid 800 BAM to renounce BiH citizenship, to also get it back. Currently, BiH has agreements only with Serbia, Croatia, and Sweden. Germany has done its part, and in the last two years, renunciations have been reduced to a minimum. But in BiH, there is still no political will.
“In recent years, we have carried out reforms in Germany so that it is easier to apply for German citizenship and to have two passports. It is also clear what the contribution of people from BiH is to our country,” stated Anna Luhrmann, German Minister for Europe and Climate.
“The number of BiH citizens who apply to renounce BiH citizenship at the embassy in Berlin, but also in our three consulates, has been reduced to an absolute minimum. These are exclusively, if such cases exist, now only for people for whom it is a requirement in order to perform certain security-related jobs. But for the purpose of acquiring German citizenship and only for that, we practically no longer have such requests, because Germany now allows dual citizenship,” said Damir Arnaut, BiH Ambassador in Germany.
From the diaspora come messages that the issue of dual citizenship must be a priority, primarily because of the sense of belonging to their homeland.
“I believe that it would not only mean something for the people, but it would also mean something for BiH in general, primarily for economic reasons, for some cultural reasons, for the belonging of the population regardless of where they live, so that they feel that they are still BiH,” Adem Rizvanovic added.
“We should not live under the illusion that people will return to BiH because of this. This is that symbolic moment that people, although they have left BiH, from BiH society, and this scourge we are living, that at least in some way they remain connected with us, because even today the diaspora is literally one of the largest inflows of money, a significant part of our economy,” emphasized Slobodan Blagovcanin, activist.
And while in Germany the doors are opening, in BiH the processes remain blocked. For more than 30 thousand former citizens who want to regain a BiH passport, dual citizenship still remains only an unfulfilled dream, N1 writes.
