Renunciation of citizenship

In a bid to secure smoother entry into Turkish universities, a notable number of dual citizens are opting to renounce their Turkish citizenships, strategically bypassing the fiercely competitive Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) in favor of the comparatively simpler Foreign Student Admission Examination (YÖS).

According to the draft budget for the coming year, which was discussed by Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers on Tuesday, state institutions will earn between 1.2 and 1.4 million Bosnian marks (between 600,000 and 700,000 euros) in payments for renouncing citizenship in 2019.

From 1996 to 2018, a total of 86,755 people renounced their Bosnian citizenship - more than the population of the town of Brcko in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina - according to data that BIRN has obtained from the country's annual migration profile.