Around 57,000 citizens of Kosovo have renounced their citizenship since the beginning of 2008 until the end of 2023. The main reason for requesting renunciation of citizenship is the prohibition of dual citizenship in different states, local media say.
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Requests for renunciation of citizenship continue during this year as well, with the number of Kosovo citizens renouncing their citizenship reaching a three-digit figure even for these first two months of the year.
Within the past year alone, 3,143 individuals have renounced their Kosovo citizenship.
"From January 1 until now, February 2024, 329 individuals have renounced their citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo. During this period, 61 individuals have acquired citizenship. In the entire year of 2023, 3,143 individuals renounced their citizenship, while 708 individuals acquired citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo."
From 2008 until the end of 2023, 57,155 individuals renounced Kosovo citizenship.
The reasons for renouncing citizenship are primarily due to the fact that many European Union states do not allow dual citizenship.
"The reasons for renouncing citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo are because many European Union states do not allow dual citizenship, including some non-European Union states. Considering that a large number of our citizens have been living for years in these states, and many have also been born in these states and as a result have acquired the right to citizenship, they are obliged to renounce their previous citizenship if they wish to obtain citizenship of that country."
A report prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs details the countries from which citizens renounced their citizenship in 2023.
The highest number of applications for renunciation of citizenship to become German citizens was recorded, with a total of 2,507 approvals. Next, 413 individuals renounced citizenship for Austria, 96 for Slovenia, 25 for Montenegro, 16 for Croatia, etc.
In contrast to renunciation of citizenship, a significantly smaller number of individuals applied to acquire citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo.
On the other hand, in 2023, 1,259 individuals applied for citizenship, and decisions were made for 1,453 citizenship acquisitions in the Republic of Kosovo: 48.7% positive decisions, 51.3% negative decisions. The majority of individuals who acquired Kosovo citizenship were from Serbia, with 202 individuals. This is likely due to marriages between Serbs from northern Kosovo and individuals from the other side of the border. Turkey had 111 individuals, Germany 120, Macedonia 80, and Albanians from Albania 46.
According to population registration data in Kosovo for the year 2011, the number of 57,155 individuals who have renounced Kosovo citizenship is about 7,000 more than the total population number in the three municipalities of the Ferizaj region: Kaçanik, Hani i Elezit, and Shtërpcë, which together have around 50,000 residents.