Can citizenship be compelled or is it voluntary?

dependS on youR status AND IN WHAT COUNTRY

Citizenship is a right given at birth of either/both the country of your birth or your parents citizenship depending on the laws of the country you were born in

Citizenship is a RIGHT of birth. A child has birthright citizenship in its parents' country of citizenship wherever it is born. A few countries also have jus solis laws - birthright citizenship by being born within that country. This sometimes means a child is born with two (even 3!) birthright citizenships - birthright citizenship in mother's country of citizenship, birthright citizenship in father's country of citizenship, and birthright citizenship in the country where they were born (e.g. US, Ecuador, etc.).

Birthright citizenship is international law & country law everywhere so that a child is automatically a citizen of its parents' country! This ensures nobody is born stateless, and children can always remain with their parents. If "jus solis" laws were abolished in the countries which have that, a child would still be entitled to citizenship & residency in their parents' country. Jus sanguinis (citizenship by blood) protects children & keeps families together.

@ ibu guru Not true. US diplomatic missions abroad may be refusing to accept renunciation applications as a matter of practice unless the applicant already has another citizenship, but it is not a requirement of the policy or the law. If US diplomatic missions are doing that it is probably to avoid pandering to the stupid leftists who are butthurt about Trump.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/t...

If you are a US citizen then you can exit the USA, go to a US Embassy or Consulate, and renounce your citizenship. It's permanent.