Updated July 19, 2017 12:54:47

Two embarrassing resignations in five days have politicians scouring their records to check their own citizenship, but the major parties are confident that they will not face the humiliation inflicted on the Greens.

Labor and the Liberals are much tougher on their potential candidates and have strict processes to check people are not in breach of section 44 of the Australian constitution.

Smaller parties like the Greens — who have, until now, been more relaxed when candidates put up their hand — are realising they need to rethink that approach.

The Canadian-born deputy Greens leader has resigned from the Senate after realising she did not renounce her dual citizenship. Here's a look at her political career up to now.

And with the latest census showing 28 per cent of Australians were born overseas, the citizenship hurdle is one that many potential candidates have to clear.

Dual citizenship is not a barrier for entry to state politics. But the path to Federal Parliament is clearly signposted with flashing lights alerting a political aspirant of the need to "determine your eligibility".

That advice is at the top of the list on the Electoral Commission's nomination guide for candidates, followed by detailed instructions to read the electoral backgrounder on constitutional disqualifications.

And when they pick up the pen to fill in the boxes on the nomination form, the reference to the eligibility section of the constitution is in bold.

They are asked to fill in whether they are an Australian citizen by birth — including where they were born, or if it was by naturalisation including when citizenship was granted.

That is the step that has tripped up the two Greens senators because they made assumptions and did not check before signing the documents.

Scott Ludlam built a reputation as an outspoken fighter for online privacy rights, national security and environmental causes.

In Scott Ludlam's case, he wrongly thought that naturalisation wiped out his New Zealand citizenship, while Larissa Waters believed she was not a Canadian citizen.

Twenty-five people in the current parliament were born overseas including the outgoing Greens, making citizenship a nerve-wracking topic for many.

It has prompted suggestions that the rules should be changed so that a candidate has to produce the documentation to prove they have renounced citizenship of another country.

But there is no inclination for that step within the Government, where the argument is that an aspiring politicians should treat the nomination form as a solemn and binding responsibility.

Renouncing citizenship doesn't always come cheap

The expectation is that before signing the part of the nomination form that declares you are qualified under the Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth, a candidate should have taken every step to clear up any doubt, including getting in contact with the relevant High Commission or Embassy to make sure that your parents' overseas trip did not leave you ineligible to sit in parliament a few decades later.

Renouncing citizenship of another country can be an expensive process.

Labor senator Sam Dastyari said giving up his Iranian citizenship cost $25,000 and involved two teams of lawyers — one from Australia and one in Iran.

"It was difficult, expensive, lengthy and precarious for my family still living in Iran. Nonetheless the rules are the rules and I have met them to ensure I meet the requirements to be properly elected," he said on Facebook.

It is not so costly for the more straightforward case of renouncing citizenship of the United Kingdom which incurs a fee of around $530.

And Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion had to make a quick round-trip to the UK to do it in person before he was elected to avoid being ruled ineligible.

Topics: government-and-politics, forms-of-government, immigration, australia

First posted July 18, 2017 16:47:26