Citizenship is full membership in a nation or in some other unit of government. Citizenship is also called nationality. Almost all people have citizenship in at least one country. Citizens have certain rights, such as the right to vote and the right to hold public office. They also have certain duties, such as the duty to pay taxes and to serve on a jury.
Not all the people in a nation are citizens of that country. For example, many countries have noncitizen nationals. The word national is often used as another word for citizen. In some cases, however, national means a person who owes loyalty to a country but lacks full membership in it. Noncitizen nationals of the United States include the people of American Samoa, a group of Pacific islands controlled by the United States. The people of American Samoa have the protection of the U.S. government but lack some of the special rights of citizens.
People who are neither citizens nor noncitizen nationals of a country are considered aliens there. Most aliens are citizens or noncitizen nationals of one country who are traveling or living in another. Many aliens have a permit called a visa allowing them to visit or live where they do not hold citizenship. Illegal aliens are noncitizens living in a country without proper papers.
The laws or beliefs of a country might deny some rights to certain citizens. Such people are sometimes called second-class citizens. Many have a language, race, or religion different from that of the country’s largest or most powerful group. For example, the South African government considered Black South Africans second-class citizens for many years. In 1948, it established a policy of rigid racial segregation called apartheid. Under apartheid, Black citizens and other nonwhites faced official discrimination in education, employment, and other areas. In addition, Black people were not allowed to vote in national elections. In 1991, the government repealed the last of the laws that had formed the legal basis of apartheid. In 1994, the country held its first national elections in which Black citizens were allowed to vote.
Under the Constitution and other laws, no American may be made a second-class citizen. Citizens receive equal protection of the law, no matter what their race, color, gender, or religion. But some Americans treat certain groups as second-class citizens despite the law.
The word citizen comes from the Latin word civitas, which in ancient times meant membership in a city. Today, citizenship refers mainly to membership in a nation.
What it means to be a citizen
The rights of citizens
differ from nation to nation. The Constitution of the United States provides the basic rights of American citizens, and laws passed by Congress give additional rights. These rights are called civil rights. They include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly (the right to gather peacefully for political or other purposes). American citizens have the right to vote for the President and members of Congress and to run for government office themselves. U.S. citizens have the right to travel throughout the United States. American citizens, unlike those of some countries, cannot be forced to leave their homeland. American citizenship cannot be taken away, except for certain serious actions.
Aliens and noncitizen nationals share many of the rights of U.S. citizens. But they cannot vote, hold public office, or do certain other things that citizens can do.
The rights of citizens have certain limits. For example, U.S. citizens must be at least 18 years old to vote. States also can limit voting rights to people who have registered to vote. Freedom of speech does not allow a person to tell lies that damage someone’s reputation. Many other civil rights also have limits.
The duties of citizens,
like citizens’ rights, differ from nation to nation. Most governments demand that citizens pay taxes, defend their country, and obey its laws. Some governments require certain citizens to serve on juries.
Many people believe that citizens also have duties not demanded by law, such as voting, learning about public problems, and trying to help other people. Many of these duties go along with rights. For example, the duty to vote comes with the right to vote. The duty to learn about public problems comes with freedom of speech and of the press, which protect the open discussion of public events and the exchange of ideas.
Aliens must obey the laws of the country in which they are traveling or living, except for those that bind only citizens. In addition, aliens must obey some of the laws of their homeland. For example, some foreigners who work in the United States must pay taxes both to the U.S. government and to the government of their own country. Travelers who break the laws of a country they are visiting may be put on trial and fined or imprisoned. Many nations grant diplomatic immunity to aliens who represent foreign governments. Diplomatic immunity is a set of special rights granted to the representatives of foreign governments and to the representatives’ families and staffs. In many countries, these rights include freedom from arrest, search, and taxation.
Ways of becoming a citizen
Nations have various laws that govern the granting of citizenship. People become citizens in two ways: (1) by birth and (2) by naturalization.
Birth.
Most people become citizens of a country simply by being born there. The right to citizenship in the country of one’s birth is called jus soli << juhs SOH ly >> , a Latin phrase that means right of soil. The laws of most nations, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, grant citizenship based on jus soli. Some nations limit jus soli to children whose parents already have citizenship in that nation. Some nations also deny jus soli to certain groups of persons. Such persons include children who are born in a country where their parents are serving as diplomatic representatives. Persons denied jus soli also include babies born to refugees (persons who have been forced from their homeland by war or some other difficulty).
Some countries use another rule of citizenship instead of jus soli–or in addition to it. This rule provides that the citizenship of children is determined by the nationality of their parents, no matter where the children are born. The right to citizenship in the country of one’s parents is called jus sanguinis << juhs SANG wuh nuhs >> . This phrase is a Latin term that means right of blood. Canada, France, the United States, and a number of other nations grant jus sanguinis to children born abroad if one or both parents are citizens.
Naturalization
is the legal process by which foreigners become citizens of a country they have adopted. Each nation sets requirements that aliens must meet to become naturalized. For example, aliens cannot undergo naturalization in Canada or the United States unless they have lived in their new country for a number of years. On the other hand, Israel allows Jewish immigrants to become Israeli citizens the day they arrive under a rule called the Law of Return. Many nations naturalize only people who understand the rights and duties of citizenship and can use the national language. The United States and certain other countries require aliens to give up citizenship in their homelands to become naturalized.
Naturalization usually takes place in a ceremony in which qualified aliens promise loyalty to their new country. In the United States, many naturalization ceremonies take place on Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, September 17.
Treaties or the passage of special laws may naturalize groups of people without the usual naturalization process. For example, an act of Congress naturalized the people of Puerto Rico in 1917. The United States had taken over Puerto Rico through the treaty that ended the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Dual citizenship
Some people hold citizenship in two nations. The condition of being a citizen of two nations is called dual citizenship or dual nationality.
Some people gain dual citizenship by birth. For example, a baby born to a French family visiting the United States would have U.S. citizenship by jus soli. The baby also would have French citizenship by jus sanguinis. People whose parents are citizens of two countries might have dual nationality by jus sanguinis.
Some people have dual citizenship as a result of naturalization. For example, a nation might allow its naturalized citizens to keep their original citizenship. Such persons could claim citizenship in two countries. Or, a nation might refuse to allow its people to give up their citizenship. People who declared that they no longer were citizens of such a country and became naturalized in another still would be claimed as citizens by the original nation.
The loss of citizenship
Expatriation
is the act of giving up one’s citizenship in a country. Such countries as Canada and the United States allow citizens to expatriate themselves. The term expatriation also means the act of taking away a person’s citizenship in a country.
United States law provides that citizens might be expatriated if they willingly commit certain acts. Such acts include becoming naturalized in another country, promising loyalty to another country, and serving in another country’s armed forces or government. An American may also be expatriated for trying to overthrow the United States government by force. U.S. law provides a process by which expatriated Americans can become citizens again.
Statelessness
is the lack of citizenship in any country. Children of alien parents are born stateless if the country of their birth does not grant jus soli and the parents’ homeland does not grant jus sanguinis. People can become stateless by giving up citizenship in one country without gaining citizenship in another.
Some people become stateless as a result of government action. For example, a government might punish citizens by expatriating them, leaving them stateless. In 1935, the German government led by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler expatriated all Jews living in Germany. Many other people become stateless when their homelands are destroyed by war.
In the United States, a stateless person is considered an alien. Unlike other aliens, however, stateless persons have no government from which to ask protection.
U.S. citizenship laws
The Constitution,
as it was first written, did not clearly say how citizenship would be granted. The writers of the Constitution probably believed that citizens of the 13 original states would keep their state citizenship after they became citizens of the United States. Later, the United States followed the British practice of granting jus soli. In 1790, Congress adopted laws that provided jus sanguinis to children born to American parents abroad if the father had lived in the United States.
Today, the Constitution protects citizenship mainly through the 14th Amendment. This amendment establishes jus soli for nearly everyone born in the United States. It guarantees citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Only children of foreign diplomats and other persons not subject to the jurisdiction (under the authority) of the United States lack jus soli. Under the 14th Amendment, United States citizens automatically become citizens of a state as well, simply by living in that state. A special law grants citizenship to Native Americans on reservations.
The Supreme Court of the United States has used the Eighth Amendment to limit Congress’s powers of expatriation. The Eighth Amendment forbids cruel and unusual punishments. The court has ruled that citizens cannot be expatriated for deserting U.S. military forces during wartime or for avoiding military duty by living abroad during a war.
Other constitutional amendments protect the voting rights of certain groups of citizens. For example, the 15th Amendment states that citizens cannot be denied the right to vote because of their race. The 19th Amendment gives women the vote. The 26th Amendment provides that citizens who are at least 18 years old cannot be denied voting rights because of their age.
The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, protect the civil rights of citizens, noncitizen nationals, and aliens. The Bill of Rights provides freedom of speech, religion, and the press. In addition, it safeguards the rights of persons accused of crimes and promises fair treatment by the government in several other matters.
Laws passed by Congress
regulate the granting of citizenship by birth and by naturalization. Under jus sanguinis, children born abroad have U.S. citizenship if one or both parents are citizens. If only one parent is a citizen, that parent must have lived in the United States or one of its possessions for at least five years, two of them after the age of 14.
Naturalization is limited to aliens who are at least 18 years old. Applicants for naturalization must have lived in the United States for a certain number of years. In addition, they must prove that they understand the U.S. political system, follow generally accepted moral standards, and can use the English language. They also must show that, in the 10 years before naturalization, they have not supported any disloyal political belief or group. Congress often passes laws that excuse certain aliens from one or more of the requirements for naturalization. In many cases, alien children under the age of 18 automatically become U.S. citizens if one or both of their parents become naturalized. Naturalized citizens cannot serve as President or Vice President of the United States. However, naturalized citizens have all the other rights and duties that citizens by birth have.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 establishes the basic laws of U.S. citizenship and immigration. This act, also known as the McCarran-Walter Act, has undergone several changes since its adoption. Originally, the law admitted only a certain number of immigrants of each nationality. But a law passed by Congress in 1965 gave preference to immigrants with skills needed in the United States and to close relatives of U.S. citizens. A 1990 law continued these preferences. Aliens must be admitted as legal immigrants to get U.S. citizenship. People who flee to the United States after being officially certified as refugees may receive immigrant status.
Canadian citizenship
Canada regulates citizenship through the Citizenship Act, which took effect in 1977. Under this law, a person can become a citizen of Canada in any of three ways: (1) by being born in Canada, (2) by having at least one parent with Canadian citizenship, and (3) by being naturalized.
The right to acquire citizenship has certain limits. For example, children born in Canada to foreign diplomats do not automatically become Canadian citizens. Canadian citizens born abroad must fulfill certain requirements to keep their citizenship. To become naturalized in Canada, aliens must be at least 18 years old and must have lived in Canada for at least three years on a permanent basis. They also must know about Canadian history, geography, and government and be able to use French or English. Naturalized Canadian citizens have the same rights and duties as citizens by birth. The rights of Canadian citizens include voting and holding positions in the government.
Canada belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of independent countries and other political units formerly under British rule. Citizens of Commonwealth nations, including Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have citizenship in the Commonwealth as well as in their own country.
History
The idea of citizenship developed in the cities of ancient Greece and Rome about 700 B.C. The early Greeks and Romans thought of cities mainly as communities, rather than as geographic places. These communities consisted of citizens linked by such ties as friendship, family relationships, and participation in government. Not all the people of cities had citizenship. For example, ancient Greek and Roman cities denied citizenship to people they had enslaved.
The rights of Greek citizens included owning land and taking part in government. Their duties included voting, attending the government assembly, sitting on juries, and giving military service.
The special rights of Roman citizens included owning property, making contracts and wills, and suing for damages. As the Roman government expanded its rule, Roman citizens traveled to other lands to fight wars, rule territories, and conduct business. They kept all their special rights when they traveled anywhere in the Roman Empire. The government also began to grant Roman citizenship to people who had never lived in Rome. In A.D. 212, the government granted Roman citizenship to most people throughout the empire, except for enslaved people.
During the Middle Ages, which lasted from about the late 400’s to about 1500, citizenship remained connected with cities. By this time, people thought of cities mainly as geographic places where people lived. During the 1500’s and 1600’s, nations ruled by kings or queens developed. As a result, people began to think of citizenship as membership in a nation. The people of these nations gave their loyalty to their monarch and were often called subjects.
During the 1700’s, democracies began to develop. People living in democracies gave their loyalty to the nation instead of to the nation’s ruler. As a result, the terms citizen and national began to replace subject.
