When losing citizenship is fine : denationalisation and permanent expatriation

First published online: 25 February 2020Over the last few decades, only a few studies have assessed denationalisation as a way of terminating ‘obsolescent’ citizenship resulting from the long-term emigration of an individual. This mode of loss of citizenship seems prima facie more legitimate than citizenship revocation as a means of punishment, as it only represents the legal recognition of the disappearance of a genuine link between an individual and a state. This paper explores the legal status of this mechanism (both from international law and national legislation) and differentiates three models (corrective, preventive, and extensive). From a normative perspective, reviewing three democratic theories of citizenship, this paper claims that the most persuasive justification for this mode of loss is the ‘all subjected persons’ principle. The loss of citizenship of permanent expatriates thereby becomes part of a democratic theory linking habitual residence with possession and conservation of citizenship, with due respect for human rights principles