The Hungarian government is surprised by Ukrainian fines for double citizenship

The Hungarian government expressed surprise at the decision of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the introduction of penalties for persons with double citizenship.

On Friday, the Assistant Secretary of State for National Policy of the Ministry of Administration and Justice of Hungary Zsuzsanna Reypash declared this to the Hungarian News Agency MTI and radio "Kossuth."

"The Hungarian government is surprised about the fact that Ukraine intends to apply monetary sanctions against persons who obtain citizenship of another country," – she said, commenting on the adoption of the Law "On amendments to some legislative acts on citizenship."

Recognizing that by this law Ukraine essentially strengthens the constitutional provisions banning double citizenship in Ukraine and that citizenship legislation is an internal affair of the country, Zh.Reypash believes that imposing sanctions against persons with double citizenship is "illegal and discriminatory act."

"We must speak out against discrimination against people with double citizenship. If the imposed sanctions apply to Hungarians, then we need to and can effectively speak against it," – said Zh.Reypash.

October 2, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law "On amendments to some legislative acts on citizenship", which aims to implement the requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine on single citizenship by preventing and reducing cases of double citizenship.

It is understood that an adult citizen of Ukraine who has voluntarily acquired foreign citizenship and fails to submit or untimely submits the relevant application and the copy of the document confirming their entry into a foreign citizenship shall be fined in the amount ranging from 10 to 30 tax-free minimum incomes. The same acts committed by officials of state and local governments shall be punishable by a fine of 50 to 100 tax-free minimum incomes. The document also contains a list of posts which can not be occupied by persons who have citizenship of another country.

Ukrinform