Nationality is a relationship between a
person and their
state of
origin,
culture, association,
affiliation and/or
loyalty. Nationality affords the state
jurisdiction over the person, and affords the person the protection of the state.
Traditionally under
international law and
conflict of laws principles, it is the right of each state to determine who its nationals are. Today the law of nationality is increasingly coming under more international regulation by various conventions on
statelessness, as well as some multilateral treaties such as the
European Convention on Nationality.
Generally, nationality is established at birth by a child's place of birth (
jus soli) and/or bloodline (
jus sanguinis). Nationality may also be acquired later in life through
naturalization.
Corporations,
ships, and other
legal persons also have a nationality, generally in the state under whose laws the legal person was formed.
The legal sense of nationality, particularly in the English speaking world, may often mean
citizenship, although they do not mean the same thing everywhere in the world; for instance, in the UK, citizenship is a branch of nationality which in turn ramifies to include other subcategories (see
British nationality law). Citizens have rights to participate in the
political life of the state of which they are a citizen, such as by voting or standing for
election. Nationals need not immediately have these rights; they may often acquire them in due time.
Nationality can also mean membership in a cultural/historical group related to political or national identity, even if it currently lacks a formal state. This meaning is said by some authorities to cover many groups, including
Kurds,
Basques,
Catalans, the
Welsh,
Scots,
Palestinians,
Tamils, and many others.
Overview
Where a country has only one legal system, the law will match the common perception, but where the country is divided into separate
states, different rules apply. In the
common law, upon birth, every person acquires a
domicile. This is the relationship between a person and a specific legal system. Hence, one might have an
Australian nationality and a domicile in
New South Wales, or an American nationality and a domicile in
Arizona.
The
residents of a country generally possess the
right of abode in the territory of the country whose legal documents they hold. This, however, is dependent upon the constitution of the named land, and there are exceptions, particularly among more economically stable nations (e.g.,
British Nationality Law).
The person remains subject to the state's
jurisdiction (the
lex domicilii in
Conflict of Laws) for the purposes of defining
status and
capacity wherever he or she might travel outside the state's territory; in exchange, the individual is entitled to the state's protection, and to other rights as well. This is an aspect of the
public policy of
parens patriae and derives from the
social contract. In the
civil law systems of continental
Europe, either the law of nationality (known as the
lex patriae) or the law of the place of
habitual residence is preferred to domicile as the test of a person's status and capacity.
Some countries do not permit dual nationality while others only allow a very limited form of dual citizenship (e.g.
Indian nationality law,
South African nationality law, Republic of China nationality law). A person who is not a national of any state is declared a
stateless person.
In the
United States, the term "national" usually means someone who has U.S. nationality, but not
United States citizenship, by virtue of living in a U.S. territory. Though it applied to other U.S. territories in the past, today only residents of
American Samoa and
Swains Island are considered U.S. "nationals"; Congress has granted full citizenship to residents of the remaining territories. U.S. "nationals" have the same rights to enter, live, and work in the United States as citizens; voting rights are the only major difference. Legally, however (and in the broader sense), U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals;
United States passports do not distinguish between citizens and non-citizen nationals.
Alternative usage
In several non-English speaking areas of the world, the
cognate word for
nationality in local language may be understood as a synonym of
ethnicity, as
nation can be defined as a grouping based on cultural self-determination rather than on relations with a state. For example, many people would say they are
Kurds, i.e., of Kurdish nationality, even though no such
Kurdistan state exists (the postulated homeland is divided among five countries). In the context of former
Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia,
nationality is often used as translation of the
Russian and
Serbo-Croatian terms (
национальность/ natsionalnost, народност/narodnost) used for
ethnic groups and local affiliations within those (former) states. Similarly, the term "
nationalities of China" refers to cultural groups in China. Spain is one Nation, made out by
nationalities, which are not nations, or can be considered smaller nations within the Spanish Nation.
External links
See also
In law legal status refers to the concept of individuals having a particular place in society, relative to the law, as it determines the laws which affect them. Degrees of status, as well as the rights and statutes which apply, vary in accordance with several standard (as well as
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This article has been tagged since September 2007.
..... Click the link for more information. Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city or town but now usually a country) and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen.
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naturalization refers to an act whereby a person acquires a citizenship different from that person's citizenship at birth. Naturalization is most commonly associated with economic migrants or refugees who have immigrated to a country and resided there as aliens, and who have
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The Leave to Remain is the legal status of a person issued by a government office of internal affairs to one who is not yet a citizen. In most stable countries, Indefinite leave to remain (as is known in the UK) is granted to these foreign citizens after a specified period spent
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Immigration is the movement of people from one place to another. While human migration has existed throughout human history, immigration implies long-term permanent residence (and often eventual citizenship) by the immigrants: tourists and short-term visitors are not considered
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Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Under this definition, an illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either has illegally crossed an international political border, be it by land,
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Statelessness is the legal and social concept of a person lacking belonging (or a legally enforceable claim) to any recognised nationality. Statelessness is not always the same as lack of citizenship.
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Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city or town but now usually a country) and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen.
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A native-born citizen of a country is a person who is legally recognized as that country's citizen at the moment of birth and was also born within that country.
A person can be considered to be a "citizen-at-birth" either due to place of birth within that country's
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naturalization refers to an act whereby a person acquires a citizenship different from that person's citizenship at birth. Naturalization is most commonly associated with economic migrants or refugees who have immigrated to a country and resided there as aliens, and who have
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Multiple citizenship, or multiple nationality, is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state.
Dual citizenship
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In U.S. law, an
alien is a person who owes political allegiance to another country or government and not a native or naturalized citizen of the land where they are found.
[1] Types of "alien" persons are:
..... Click the link for more information. A migrant worker is someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home.[]
Although the United Nations' use of this term overlaps with 'foreign worker', the use of the term within the United States is more specific.
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Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Under this definition, an illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either has illegally crossed an international political border, be it by land,
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The word crime comes from the Latin crimen (genitive criminis), from the Latin root cernō and Greek κρινω = "I judge". Originally it meant "charge (in law), guilt, accusation.
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prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of personal freedoms.
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Slavery is a social-economic system under which certain persons — known as slaves — are deprived of personal freedom and compelled to perform labour or services.
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This article has been tagged since July 2007.
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A stateless person is someone with no citizenship or nationality. It may be because the state that gave their previous nationality has ceased to exist and there is no successor state, or their nationality has been repudiated by their own state, effectively making them refugees.
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enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.
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worldwide view.
An enemy combatant has historically referred to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war.[1][2]
..... Click the link for more information. Administrative detention (Hebrew: מעצר מנהלי ma'atzar minhali), (Arabic: egg'te'al Edari
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This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events.
It may contain tentative information; the content may change as the event approaches and more information becomes available.
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Nationality law is the branch of a country's legal system wherein legislation, custom and court precedent combine to define the ways in which that country's nationality and citizenship are transmitted, acquired or lost.
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Nationalism is a term that refers to a doctrine[1] or political movement[2] that holds that a nation—usually defined in terms of ethnicity or culture—has the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community based on a shared
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Discrimination
Major forms
Racism
Sexism
Homophobia
Ageism
Antisemitism
Islamophobia
Ableism
Manifestations
Slavery · Racial profiling
Hate speech · Hate crime
Genocide · Ethnocide · Holocaust
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Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Under this definition, an illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either has illegally crossed an international political border, be it by land,
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Second-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there.
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