Should Azerbaijan recognize and allow dual citizenship?.
After confirmation of amendments to the law "On Citizenship of the Republic of Azerbaijan" last year by President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani people cannot have dual or multiple citizenships (Aliyev,2014). According to the 18th article of the constitution one of the reasons that can result with the loss of citizenship is willingly obtaining the citizenship of another country. In the era of globalization such amendments from a conservative perspective which deprives people from valuable rights like having dual nationality is very disappointing. As dual citizenship has advantages for both citizens and the country itself such as dual opportunities, cultural promotion, ease of travel and property ownership the government of Azerbaijan should reconsider the prohibition of dual citizenship.
If our government allowed multiple citizenships, the best advantage of it from the perspective of individuals would be dual access to the rights in both countries. For instance a dual citizen is able to vote in both countries and thus can play role in social and political life of both countries (Bradley,2010). Other beneficial point for a dual citizen is the choice of medical service, as medical care is free in Azerbaijan a dual citizen could take a great advantage of it, because western countries are popular not only for high standards of medical service but also for high costs. Dual citizens also can attend school in both countries and therefore can choose the country with better educational service. It is a fact that educational institutions of European countries are way better than Azerbaijani universities, so an Azerbaijanian could enjoy the high quality of education abroad. Conversely if a foreigner with Azerbaijani citizenship were not able to provide his or her children to study in their homeland because of financial issues, they could benefit from low cost of tuitions in our country, as cost of studying here is several times lower than in western countries.