Dual Citizenship Regulations

[Bravo Kilo]

Hello,

I'm pursuing a Navy commission but I currently hold a Dual Citizenship from the US and UK. I was previously enlisted in the US Air Force and it was never a problem since dual citizenship is allowed (for enlisted), but that is not the case for Officers.

I'm prepared to renounce the UK citizenship, that's not a problem. My issue is that I can't find any cold, hard regulations stating as much which I find odd. Could anybody point me toward a DoD or USN regulation that explicitly states this as a requirement? Maybe I'm just bad at researching regulations (I'm more familiar with AF Regs to be fair). All I have been able to find on the subject is hearsay.

Again, I don't have an issue renouncing it, but my prior experience has taught me to consult regulations as I've been shafted or put in awkward situations in the past because people in my CoC made assumptions about what the rules are or what the regulations say. This is a pretty irrevocable decision and I just want the piece of mind that I'm not making it based on hearsay. I'm also just a little suspicious of this requirement because at no point during enlistment in the AF, my AF career, or thus far in the commissioning process was there a check to see if I held multiple citizenships. They of course check if you are a US citizen, but beyond that you'd think if dual citizenships were disallowed, you would be asked somewhere along the way. The only place I have seen that explicitly asks about this is on the SF86, but if holding a dual citizenship was not allowed, there would be a check elsewhere. This never caused problems for me getting a security clearance. Also other national agencies such as the CIA do not have such a requirement (according to one of their recruiters, and CIA employees get TS right off the bat), and this isn't a requirement across all militaries like the British military for instance, so I'm just suspicious about how much this is hearsay vs actual fact.

I have searched on the forums, but again, I couldn't find any cold, hard regulations.

Thank you very much!


PS: First post

 

[Flash]

...My issue is that I can't find any cold, hard regulations stating as much which I find odd. Could anybody point me toward a DoD or USN regulation that explicitly states this as a requirement?

The applicable DOD reg for security clearances is DOD 5200.2-R. It states on page 16:

Performing or attempting to perform one's duties, acceptance and active maintenance of dual citizenship, or other acts conducted in a manner which serve
or which could be expected to serve the interests of another government in reference to the interests of the United States.

Since by default an officer has to qualify for a Secret clearance you can't have or exercise any the privileges of being the citizen of another country (some refuse to recognize renunciation or just plain ignore it).

 

[insanebikerboy]

I had dual citizenship when I enlisted and since the program I had enlisted into required a security clearance, I was required to renounce my other citizenship and even signed a form saying so. I would be surprised if that has changed.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Hello,

I'm pursuing a Navy commission but I currently hold a Dual Citizenship from the US and UK. I was previously enlisted in the US Air Force and it was never a problem since dual citizenship is allowed (for enlisted), but that is not the case for Officers.

I'm prepared to renounce the UK citizenship, that's not a problem. My issue is that I can't find any cold, hard regulations stating as much which I find odd. Could anybody point me toward a DoD or USN regulation that explicitly states this as a requirement? Maybe I'm just bad at researching regulations (I'm more familiar with AF Regs to be fair). All I have been able to find on the subject is hearsay.

Again, I don't have an issue renouncing it, but my prior experience has taught me to consult regulations as I've been shafted or put in awkward situations in the past because people in my CoC made assumptions about what the rules are or what the regulations say. This is a pretty irrevocable decision and I just want the piece of mind that I'm not making it based on hearsay. I'm also just a little suspicious of this requirement because at no point during enlistment in the AF, my AF career, or thus far in the commissioning process was there a check to see if I held multiple citizenships. They of course check if you are a US citizen, but beyond that you'd think if dual citizenships were disallowed, you would be asked somewhere along the way. The only place I have seen that explicitly asks about this is on the SF86, but if holding a dual citizenship was not allowed, there would be a check elsewhere. This never caused problems for me getting a security clearance. Also other national agencies such as the CIA do not have such a requirement (according to one of their recruiters, and CIA employees get TS right off the bat), and this isn't a requirement across all militaries like the British military for instance, so I'm just suspicious about how much this is hearsay vs actual fact.

I have searched on the forums, but again, I couldn't find any cold, hard regulations.

Thank you very much!


PS: First post

Flash found what you need to read.

FYI, enlisted who hold security clearances at ANY level CANNOT be dual citizens, whoever told you that was mistaken.

 

[Beans]

If you need a clearance, you have to renounce the other citizenships. Even if it's w/ our "besties" like UK, Canada, Australia, etc. The person who processes your clearance will know what to do. Ref here: https://doni.daps.dla.mil/secnav manuals1/5510.30.pdf but I can't pull up chapter verse w/o making Chrome angry.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Hello,

I'm pursuing a Navy commission but I currently hold a Dual Citizenship from the US and UK. I was previously enlisted in the US Air Force and it was never a problem since dual citizenship is allowed (for enlisted), but that is not the case for Officers.

I'm prepared to renounce the UK citizenship, that's not a problem. My issue is that I can't find any cold, hard regulations stating as much which I find odd. Could anybody point me toward a DoD or USN regulation that explicitly states this as a requirement? Maybe I'm just bad at researching regulations (I'm more familiar with AF Regs to be fair). All I have been able to find on the subject is hearsay.

Again, I don't have an issue renouncing it, but my prior experience has taught me to consult regulations as I've been shafted or put in awkward situations in the past because people in my CoC made assumptions about what the rules are or what the regulations say. This is a pretty irrevocable decision and I just want the piece of mind that I'm not making it based on hearsay. I'm also just a little suspicious of this requirement because at no point during enlistment in the AF, my AF career, or thus far in the commissioning process was there a check to see if I held multiple citizenships. They of course check if you are a US citizen, but beyond that you'd think if dual citizenships were disallowed, you would be asked somewhere along the way. The only place I have seen that explicitly asks about this is on the SF86, but if holding a dual citizenship was not allowed, there would be a check elsewhere. This never caused problems for me getting a security clearance. Also other national agencies such as the CIA do not have such a requirement (according to one of their recruiters, and CIA employees get TS right off the bat), and this isn't a requirement across all militaries like the British military for instance, so I'm just suspicious about how much this is hearsay vs actual fact.

I have searched on the forums, but again, I couldn't find any cold, hard regulations.

Thank you very much!


PS: First post

Did you ask your OR, who should be an SME with the dual citizenship and renunciation process?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Did you ask your OR, who should be an SME with the dual citizenship and renunciation process?

To be fair to the OP, at my NRD I was the only OR that knew about citizenship renunciation until about 2 years in when the other OR's were pushed to understand it.

 

[Bravo Kilo]

The applicable DOD reg for security clearances is DOD 5200.2-R. It states on page 16:

Performing or attempting to perform one's duties, acceptance and active maintenance of dual citizenship, or other acts conducted in a manner which serve
or which could be expected to serve the interests of another government in reference to the interests of the United States.

Since by default an officer has to qualify for a Secret clearance you can't have or exercise any the privileges of being the citizen of another country (some refuse to recognize renunciation or just plain ignore it).

Okay, this is helpful, thank you. So it seems it's a security clearance problem, but from my experience it is possible to hold a dual citizenship and security clearance.

I had dual citizenship when I enlisted and since the program I had enlisted into required a security clearance, I was required to renounce my other citizenship and even signed a form saying so. I would be surprised if that has changed.

Flash found what you need to read.

FYI, enlisted who hold security clearances at ANY level CANNOT be dual citizens, whoever told you that was mistaken.

Nobody told me this. I was enlisted, working on aircraft, dealing with Secret material, accessing vaults, entering and working in restricted areas, etc. It was very clearly declared on my SF-86, my CoC was aware, it is not something that was hidden. There was never any issue with my security clearance. I 100% definitely had one while holding a dual citizenship. I got out mid-2012, so either the rules changed since then, I slipped through the cracks, or it is indeed permissible to hold a dual citizenship while maintaining a security clearance. I even renewed it once while on AD

Did you ask your OR, who should be an SME with the dual citizenship and renunciation process?

I'm going to talk with her tomorrow, but it's a simple and straightforward process to renounce it.

Some time ago when I was PCSing away from a 2 year assignment in the UK I got to digging in the Air Force Instruction regarding assignments, AFI 36-2110 and I found some things in there that made me question this whole matter of officers not being able to hold dual citizenship.

3.13.2. OS Assignment Eligibility of Non-US or Dual Citizens. 3.13.2.1. Officers. All commissioned officers must be a US citizen. However, for OS assignment of officers who hold dual citizenship or if their dependents are non-US citizens, then comply with paragraph 3.13.3.1.

Implying it is possible... Yes this AFI pertains to the Air Force but should still be relevant.

3.13.3.1. Actions Required. An Airman who is a US citizen and also holds citizenship in another country (dual citizenship) or an Airman who is not a US citizen, will not be assigned to the foreign country where citizenship is held unless approval is granted by the MAJCOM/JA having OS jurisdiction.

Which is not totally relevant, but just goes to show that I may have slipped through the cracks and mistakes happen sometimes because I never had MAJCOM (USAFE) approval to be assigned in the UK...

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Okay, this is helpful, thank you. So it seems it's a security clearance problem, but from my experience it is possible to hold a dual citizenship and security clearance.





Nobody told me this. I was enlisted, working on aircraft, dealing with Secret material, accessing vaults, entering and working in restricted areas, etc. It was very clearly declared on my SF-86, my CoC was aware, it is not something that was hidden. There was never any issue with my security clearance. I 100% definitely had one while holding a dual citizenship. I got out mid-2012, so either the rules changed since then, I slipped through the cracks, or it is indeed permissible to hold a dual citizenship while maintaining a security clearance. I even renewed it once while on AD


I'm going to talk with her tomorrow, but it's a simple and straightforward process to renounce it.

Some time ago when I was PCSing away from a 2 year assignment in the UK I got to digging in the Air Force Instruction regarding assignments, AFI 36-2110 and I found some things in there that made me question this whole matter of officers not being able to hold dual citizenship.


Implying it is possible... Yes this AFI pertains to the Air Force but should still be relevant.

Which is not totally relevant, but just shows that I may have slipped through the cracks there too because I never had MAJCOM approval to be assigned in the UK...

You slipped through the cracks, as a security manager I have had to remove people from jobs because it was found out they were dual citizens (all enlisted), the last one was a dual citizen with Canada and that was in 2008, these were items that OPM found and told us, this is not service specific.

 

[Bravo Kilo]

You slipped through the cracks, as a security manager I have had to remove people from jobs because it was found out they were dual citizens (all enlisted), the last one was a dual citizen with Canada and that was in 2008, these were items that OPM found and told us, this is not service specific.

Yeah it's looking that way, which is mind-boggling (and slightly hilarious). I don't know how the hell that happened.

Oh well, at least I can renounce it's absolutely needed. It's not a huge deal, but it is an irrevocable one.

Thank you all

 

[Flash]

Okay, this is helpful, thank you. So it seems it's a security clearance problem, but from my experience it is possible to hold a dual citizenship and security clearance.

Yes, and if it is a security clearance problem then it is an officer application problem.

...I slipped through the cracks, or it is indeed permissible to hold a dual citizenship while maintaining a security clearance. I even renewed it once while on AD

As NavOffRec said you slipped through the cracks, it isn't authorized in the DoD.

 

[shoff]

I'm going to talk with her tomorrow, but it's a simple and straightforward process to renounce it.

@Bravo Kilo, it only SEEMS like a straightforward process. I'm going through it right now, and it's a pain in the ass. The British Home Office bureaucracy is even more of a pain in the ass to deal with than US bureaucracy. Feel free to PM if you have questions, but the short version is I've been in a 3 month battle to get them to return my US passport, let alone actually process the damn application. They had no problem charging me $400 right away though...

 

[Bravo Kilo]

@Bravo Kilo, it only SEEMS like a straightforward process. I'm going through it right now, and it's a pain in the ass. The British Home Office bureaucracy is even more of a pain in the ass to deal with than US bureaucracy. Feel free to PM if you have questions, but the short version is I've been in a 3 month battle to get them to return my US passport, let alone actually process the damn application. They had no problem charging me $400 right away though...

$400 to renounce?! Wow what the hell

Renouncing my citizenship months out sounds very risky since I have no guarantee I'll be admitted to OCS yet.

 

[shoff]

$400 to renounce?! Wow what the hell

Renouncing my citizenship months out sounds very risky since I have no guarantee I'll be admitted to OCS yet.

Yeah, it's £272, which works out to just under $400 depending on what exchange rate your bank gives you. I waited until I was prorec'd before submitting anything for the same reason. Luckily it turns out you don't need to have the final renunciation processed to get an OCS date. Just want my passport back before I class up now.

 

[snake020]

Outside the scope of the original topic, but what happens if one leaves active duty, still holds a reserve commission the IRR, and acquires foreign citizenship?