Law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan intend to amend the legislation to increase the punishment for deliberate concealment of dual citizenship. This was reported by TASS with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.
"This year, in order to prevent the facts of dual citizenship, it is planned to introduce amendments to legislative acts to tighten the responsibility for the deliberate concealment of another citizenship. In order to avoid consequences when taking on another citizenship, former citizens of Kazakhstan who left for other countries and took another citizenship must, within 30 days to apply to the consular office of Kazakhstan to register the loss of citizenship," the statement said.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan did not specify how exactly they plan to tighten the legislation.
"Last year, 841 people were brought to administrative responsibility for dual citizenship, 138 of them were expelled from the country by court decisions, the rest were fined. Over the past five years, 3.5 thousand people have been brought to justice for violating the legislation on citizenship, of which more than 3 thousand were fined, 473 were expelled from the country. Kazakh citizenship was canceled for all of them," the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan explained.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2022, more than 22 thousand people received citizenship of Kazakhstan. Of these, by decree of the President of the country, 1.4 thousand people received citizenship, over 17.5 thousand acquired citizenship as kandases (compatriots of Kazakh nationality), under an agreement on a simplified procedure for admission to citizenship between Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Russia - 1, 3 thousand people, according to the Convention on the nationality of a married woman - 1.8 thousand people.
Kazakhstan does not recognize dual citizenship. Administrative responsibility is provided for the use of a passport or identity card of a citizen of Kazakhstan by a person who has lost the citizenship of the country. For concealing the fact of having dual citizenship, a fine of up to 200 monthly calculation indices (1 MCI is equal to 3,450 tenge, or $7.7) is provided, or expulsion from Kazakhstan.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
February 20, 2023