What is nationality?

What Does nationality Mean

The nationality is the particular condition of the inhabitants of a nation . The concept includes notions linked to social, spatial, cultural and political factors . Nationality can be analyzed from a sociological point of view, but also from a legal-political order.

The gypsy nation, for example, is not settled in its own state ; in the same way, there is no constitution that recognizes the inhabitants of a territory as gypsies. Membership in the group, therefore, is given by the origins and traditions of the people .
Other nationalities, on the other hand, are closely linked to the state authority , such as Argentina, Spanish or Chilean, for example, which must be documented by means of a certificate issued by the State to those who meet a series of determined requirements; In these cases, there are also various obligations and rights associated with nationality, which are of a legal nature.

The characteristics of this type of nationality are directly linked to current regulations . On the other hand, it is interesting to note that some countries allow the children or grandchildren of their national inhabitants to inherit their citizenship; This also applies to those who were born in another country, whether or not they stepped on the land of their ancestors.
Nationality, therefore, can be determined by geographic space , legislation or state authorities. The dynamic nature of the concept means that some people have more than one nationality.
In general, States authorize the exercise of a single active nationality ; This means that the person, despite having two nationalities, only has rights and obligations with one of these at a time.
With regard to nationality linked to a particular State, when a foreign person (or who does not belong to that nation) enters the country, their relationship with the State is regulated by a series of laws, and it never manages to be as close as that of a native.
Regarding this bond, for private law , nationality is one of the civil status of a citizen, and this generates rights (to education, to receive aid from his government) and obligations (to render military service , to make the tax return corresponding to your tax situation). On the other hand, there is a political link between a citizen and the State, which gives him the right to participate in elections or, in the same way, to run for public office.

Original nationality is known as that which is acquired at birth; Each legal system combines two aspects to determine it:
* ius sanguinis : blood law . The lineage to which each individual belongs, following the criteria that establishes that a person inherits the nationality of his mother or father;
* the ius soli : the right of ground. It is about assigning a person the nationality that corresponds to the territory in which they were born.
On the other hand, there is the so-called derivative nationality , which arises from a modification in the original one. An individual can obtain a particular nationality through three different ways:
* if it is granted by a State to which it is transferred;

* residing for a specified period (variable in each case) in a country and respecting its laws ;

* by own decision.
Derivative nationality can be lost in very serious cases, regulated by the legislature of each country; for example, by joining the army of a country that is enemy of your own. It should be clarified that some actions are also meritorious for the loss of nationality for individuals originating from a State.
For those who lose their original nationality for reasons of force majeure, such as emigration during childhood, there are also ways of recovering it, which entail a series of requirements, particular to each country .

Go up