Slovakia has decided to withdraw from the agreement on the avoidance of dual citizenship with Russia

The Slovak government plans to withdraw from the agreement on the avoidance of dual citizenship with Russia. This was reported in the press service of the Slovak Cabinet of Ministers.

The essence of the Agreement boils down to the fact that children born in mixed families (one of the parents is a citizen of Slovakia, the second is a citizen of Russia) had to lose one of their citizenship. The decision of the Slovak government will abolish this practice — now children in such families will be able to have two citizenship. At the same time, this rule will apply to all Russian citizens, which means that when they receive Slovak citizenship, they will be able to keep their Russian passport. A similar decision was made regarding dual citizenship of Slovakia and Hungary.

The agreement was adopted in 1980 between the USSR and Czechoslovakia. According to it, it is forbidden to have citizenship of these countries at the same time. After the collapse of the two countries, it automatically spread to Slovakia and Russia. At the same time, the Russian Federation was the only country from among the former Soviet republics in respect of which the rule on avoiding dual citizenship was in force. It was automatically renewed every five years. The last time this happened was in July 2021. If the bill is approved by the National Rada, the rule will cease to operate in the summer of 2026.