Kate Mason is the latest celebrity to take a dual citizenship approach in an attempt to remain valid in both her native Britain and Australia. Kate’s husband, Dan Pleskow, is American. Because Kate is seen as a British citizen by virtue of the fact that she married a British citizen and later had a second marriage in Australia, it would seem fairly straightforward to assume that she would renounce her citizenship and become a British citizen while continuing to live in Australia. In fact, Ms. Mason has chosen to make a rather bold move. Her Australian citizenship was immediately revoked on 3 July.
It is possible that Ms. Mason’s decision is prompted by this new development. After all, if you are no longer a citizen of your former country, what good is having a second citizenship? This, however, is not entirely true; there are a number of situations where a dual citizenship might be desirable. If, for example, you are currently the father of a US citizen and want to live and financially support your children in the United States, or if you are in the business of starting a company in another country, but are still a US citizen, then it might make sense to renounce your citizenship and take up that citizenship in your second choice.
Of course, many people who enter into marriage with a different citizenship do so to escape tax debts. If this is the case, then it might make sense to renounce your previous citizenship as well. However, for others, it makes more sense to remain a citizen of the country where they have their home. Indeed, many people end up with dual citizenship cards after marriage, simply because they like the fact of being citizens of two countries. In Kate Mason’s case, however, her marriage to Mr. Pleskow required that she is a British citizen, and so it was only natural that she would choose to maintain her citizenship in the United Kingdom, rather than risk having her citizenship revoked for fraud (which, by the way, is not a crime).