dual citizenship

navy2016

5-Year Member
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Dec 30, 2009
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I heard having a duel citizenship may cause a problem fro admissions in getting a security clearance. Is is true to any extent?

here's my current situation:

I was born in Taiwan but lived here for 15 years.
My parents are going to take their citizenship test in less than 2 weeks. If one or both of them pass i will be eligible to automatically become a citizen of the US. However, I will have duel citizenship.
 
Hopefully you mean "dual" citizenship. I think we are on good terms with Taiwan! :wink:

This is very complicated and you will need the guidance of an Academy officer. There have been plenty of mids who came to the Academy with dual citizenship. The action taken is dependent upon the country you are dual with.
You may be asked to turn in your Taiwan passport and officially renounce your Taiwan citizenship.
 
While there are no cut and dried rules, the question will always remain with the evaluator as to why you would want to retain a dual citizenship.

As you proceed through your Naval career, you will reach milestones where increases in security clearances are warranted. These clearances will generally not be requested until you need them. In each case, it will be up to the individual evaluator to decide whether or not your dual citizenship is detrimental to your security posture. Should he decide that it is significant, it would most likely negatively affect your career. Why take a chance? Renounce it.
 
If your Taiwanese citizenship is important to you (and there's nothing wrong with that, it is possible to love 2 countries), I would keep it until the first hurdle where you NEED to renounce it, or at least until you get accepted. I don't think it is going to have any effect on whether you get in or not. My son made it into the Academy with dual citizenship, and so have many others.
 
I would keep it until the first hurdle where you NEED to renounce it, or at least until you get accepted.
The point that I was attempting to make was that if one waits until this point, it will probably prove detrimental to their career. Orders to report to a new duty station in six months which require a compartmentalized clearance. The clearance will require a special investigation in addition to a current SSBI. Inverstigation takes six months and clearance is denied due to dual citizenship. No one is happy. Person would either have to stay at old duty station, report to new duty station and not be able to perform the duties to which he was assigned, or receive another set of orders. None of these three scenarios would be career enhancing and all would most likely be detrimental.

One should not attend USNA unless they are prepared, and readily willing, to renounce a dual citizenship. Why wait?
 
If your Taiwanese citizenship is important to you (and there's nothing wrong with that, it is possible to love 2 countries), I would keep it until the first hurdle where you NEED to renounce it, or at least until you get accepted. I don't think it is going to have any effect on whether you get in or not. My son made it into the Academy with dual citizenship, and so have many others.


It isn't important- i lived there for like 1 year 2 months and 2 weeks

been back maybe two or three times over summer/christmas vacation

in fact i tell ppl i was simply born a year early
 
You can go to an Academy with dual citizenship. However, you cannot be commissioned as an officer and retain dual citizenship status. You will renounce your Taiwanese citizenship. It is also a discriminating factor for the issuance of a clearance.
 
As someone who has dealt with this in the past two years as a current mid, let me explain the process.
Plebe year before you get your Secret clearence (required for all officers) you will have an interview to explain your relationship with any foreign nationals in your family. After this you will have a sit down session with a very friendly man (that is not meant sarcastically, he really is a nice man) who goes over the whole deal. You are required by navy regulations to surrender any foreign passports you have for shredding as well as to sign a paper saying that if requested in the future you will renounce your dual citizenship.

I've renounced my dual citizenship due to complications with the host country and shredding it's passport. However I was not told to do so by the navy. You simply sign a piece of paper saying you will do so if requested to in the future. Whether or not you will be requested depends on a multitude of factors, of which I don't know, since I am no longer a dual citizen.
 
Also, if you have dual citizenship remember that you lose the citizenship of many countries (i.e. Germany) automatically at the moment you say your Oath of Office on I-day.
 
Plebe year before you get your Secret clearence (required for all officers) you will have an interview to explain your relationship with any foreign nationals in your family.

I doubt if midshipmen are given SECRET clearances because there really is no need-to-know issue. Actually, I think CONFIDENTIAL clearances are standard with any commission. Then, of course, you have TOP SECRET.

I could be wrong about this. But SECRET clearances are not very common, actually.
 
I was told by NCIS, and the guy who helped me with this whole issue that the only reason I was going through it was due to needing Secret clearance in order to be commissioned as an officer in the USN. Plus you do several things that require you to have Secret clearance as a midshipman, go on a submarine during PROTramid, and have several Sub briefs during 2/C year.
 
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