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Johan Leman, 16 May 2023

I remember fairly well the framework within which nationality acquisition was once thought about in our country, at the time of the launch of the Royal Commissariat for Migrant Policy (KCM) (1989). The Royal Commissioner and her deputy were concerned with promoting the participation in social and political life of those with migrant roots. Some in their seventies and eighties will remember that back then, in some Brussels municipalities, there were discussions about upper limits to admit migrants and about neglect of some neighbourhoods in larger cities. The Royal Commissioner’s idea at the time was that giving people with migrant roots political leverage would have the effect of improving political interest in those neighbourhoods. The question was: through which instrument? By granting municipal voting rights? Or by facilitating nationality acquisition? Granting municipal voting rights, however, meant first amending an article in the Constitution, and that assumed a 2/3 majority in parliament. This did not seem doable. On top of that, granting municipal voting rights to non-Belgians in the population was more difficult than making Belgo-worship more accessible. So the path of facilitating Belgo-being was chosen.

The problem that arose then was that some (e.g. Moroccans) could not lose their nationality of origin. This opened the discussion on dual nationality. The normal game rule in dual nationality is that the laws of the nationality apply to the country where you pretty much always reside, especially while in this country. What was not an issue then was that politicians in the countries of origin would continue to take an interest in citizens in countries other than their own country. That interest and influence could go so far as to affect life and inclusion here with us.

My plea is absolutely not to abolish dual nationality. This is not desirable. But it may be time to see if there should not be additional regulations that would address the gaps created by the current situation. Don’t get me wrong: dual nationality? Yes. But additional regulations may be needed to eliminate the unforeseen side effects, especially for those with migration roots who were born here with us.

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