56-year-old actor, Colin Firth, is reportedly applying for Italian citizenship because he was worried about the consequences of the Brexit.
Firth is married to Italian film producer, Livia Giuggiolo, for 20 years. They currently live in Chiswick, West London with their two sons Luca, 16, and Matteo, 13. Firth is worried that his wife could get deported once Britain splits from the EU.
Speaking to an Austrian newspaper, Firth said: “For me this is a disaster of unexpected proportions. Brexit does not have a single positive aspect.”
Firth will be able to retain his British passport even if he is awarded Italian citizenship, because both countries permit dual nationality, unlike other European Union countries like Germany.
A spokesman for the actor explained: “Colin applied for dual citizenship (British and Italian) in order to have the same passports as his wife and children.”
EXPLAINING DUAL CITIZENSHIP
Dual citizenship means that the individual is recognized as a citizen both in their home country, where born, and where he has decided to reside. Dual or multiple citizenship is not as simple as obtaining a certificate by applying for it. Each country has its own set of rules regulations about who can be recognized as a citizen. Therefore, when a person becomes a dual citizen it means that he agrees to abide by laws and regulations that are upheld by the country being resided in.
It should be noted that not all countries in the EU allow for dual citizenship. The majority of the 28 countries do but you should be aware of which countries allow for it and which ones do not. However, over 90 percent of EU citizens do hold citizenship in more than one country.
If your country of original citizenship does not recognize dual citizenship, then you may be regarded by that country as having renounced your first nationality before acquiring new citizenship.
THE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE BREXIT
On 23 June 2016, the UK voted in a referendum on the country’s EU membership. 51.9% of voters chose the option of leaving the EU, otherwise referred to as the Brexit.
GEOPOLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
The UK’s rejection of the EU is a crisis of globalisation, as it is another indication of resurgent nationalism in global affairs. This means that the move will strengthen nationalist political movements across Europe and sharpen lines of international confrontation and competition. It is, by far, the furthest step in the pattern of right- and left-wing populist insurgency against ‘elite’ political and economic establishments, and probably a harbinger of further political shifts in Western countries against globalisation.
Second, Brexit ensures that there will be a significant shift in UK immigration policy within the next few years, which is likely to impair hiring by multinational companies.
Third, Brexit will undermine several pending trade deals. Brexit will eject the UK from the TTIP negotiations, taking it – in US President Barack Obama’s – ‘to the back of queue’ in US trade negotiations.
Fourth, Brexit is of particular strategic concern to the US. Brexit damages Western solidarity and undermines the liberal democratic order promoted by the US since the end of the Second World War. The US is also concerned that Brexit will increase the drift in US-UK military and strategic relations since the end of the Iraq War (2003-09).
GLOBAL ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS
The Brexit shock increases the likelihood of a global economic downturn. The global economy is fragile due to the sharp slowdown in emerging market growth and persistent weak growth in the US and Europe since the 2008-09 crisis. Brexit could push this situation into an overdue global slowdown, or even recession.