Citizenship is the legal status of belonging to a country. It gives a person rights and protection, while also creating duties and responsibilities.
Ways of acquiring citizenship
- Descent: a person acquires citizenship through the nationality of one or both parents.
- Place of birth: some legal systems grant citizenship because a person is born in the country.
- Marriage: a foreign spouse may qualify for citizenship through marriage, subject to the law.
- Residence: a foreigner may qualify after living lawfully in a country for the required period.
- Adoption: an adopted child may acquire the nationality of the adoptive parents.
- Territorial change: people may acquire a new nationality when a territory changes status through a lawful political process.
- Naturalisation: a foreigner may apply for citizenship after meeting legal conditions such as residence and good character.
- Service: in some cases, exceptional service to a country may be recognised through the grant of citizenship.
Dual nationality
Dual nationality means that a person is recognised as a citizen of two countries. It may arise when a child has parents of different nationalities, when a person is born in one country to foreign parents, or when a citizen later acquires another nationality.
Dual nationality can provide opportunities to live, work and study in both countries, but it may also create duties to obey the laws of both countries. The rights and obligations of a dual national depend on the laws of the countries concerned.
Summary
Citizenship may be acquired in several ways, including descent, birth, residence, naturalisation and adoption. Dual nationality occurs when one person legally belongs to two countries.
