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The constitution of India deals with the Citizenship from the article 5 to 11 under part ll . The Citizenship Act, 1995 prescribes 5 way of acquiring citizenship [1]i.e. by
1. Birth
2. Descent
3. Registration
4. Naturalization
5. Incorporation of the territory
Contrary Whereas Nationality can be obtained by Birth and Inheritance.
Nationality and citizenship are one of the most misconstrued word in the world . It is most often seen that both of these words are confused to be the same , to a layman Nationality and Citizenship might seem to have a similar meaning but when we try to closely observe , we find that there is major difference between the two. A person's nationality, reveals his / her birth place , i.e. where he / she belongs from. It defines a person's affiliation to a given nation . On the, when he / she complies with the legal formalities, citizenship is granted to an individual by the country government. It's the position of becoming a country citizen.[2]
Nationality is defined as the legal status, which represents the country from which an individual belongs. An individual’s nationality denotes, the country where he/she is born and are the legal citizen. The status is acquired by birth, inheritance or naturalization. Each state sets the criteria on the basis of constitutional provisions which decide who can be the country's nationals. It grants the country, rights over the individual. It further provides the individual, the nation's security from other nations. Based on the International conventions every sovereign state has the right to determine its nations as per nationality law.
Citizenship is defined as a status acquired by becoming a registered member of the state by law. Any person can become a member of the state by satisfying the legal requirements of the respective country. In simple terms, the virtue of being a citizen of the country is called citizenship. One can become a recognized citizen of a country by marriage, birth, registration, inheritance and naturalization. That state grants its people certain legal rights and privileges, and they are also obliged to obey the rules and regulations imposed by the respective country's government. When the individual is a State citizen, he is entitled to vote, work, live, pay taxes and take an active part in the society. Everybody is a citizen of the country he / she is born in, but to become a citizen of some other country one needs to apply for it.
To have a nationality usually is being a member of a community. Nationality is acquired by birth or adoption, marriage or descent (specifics vary by country). Having a nationality is crucial for receiving full recognition under international law. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[3] declares that “Everyone has the right to a nationality” and “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality” . But the act does not specify any laws regarding citizenship . Citizenship is comparatively a narrow concept it can be seen as a specific legal relationship between person and state therefore is subject to variance , each state can have its own personal laws for and criteria for obtaining citizenship unlike nationality which comes with the birth of a person in a particular country.
Though there has always been common misconceptions regarding the similarity of both the contents but there are certain basic point of difference which will give a clear meaning and understanding of the same.[4]
1. Nationality is a ethical or racial concept whereas Citizenship is a legal and juristical concept.
2. It is a representation of country where an individual has taken birth whereas an individual gets an citizenship with approval of government.
3. Nationality of a person cannot be changed whereas citizenship can be changed and person can have more than one citizenship.
4. Nationality cannot be reversed whereas Citizenship can be reversed.
Nationality, as the name implies, is something that is linked to the nation a person gets by birth and is innate. At the other hand, citizenship is a little different, requiring a individual to complete the legal formalities to become a recognized state member. Furthermore, nationality is a subject of international transactions while citizenship is an internal political matter for the country. Citizenship is a more classified concept, It allows a person full civil and social rights along with political rights.
[1] https://www.artoncapital.com/dual-citizenship/. [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4tjJqaoSlA. [3] https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. [4] http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/166346/11/11_chapter_4.pdf. References- 1. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/166346/11/11_chapter_4.pdf. 2. https://ijrcenter.org/thematic-research-guides/nationality-citizenship/.
Author-Aeshna Raghuwanshi, Content writer, Legal Eagle.