What is Citizenship?

Citizenship is the status of membership and belonging to a country. Citizens of a country enjoy the rights, privileges and responsibilities associated with their citizenship according to the country’s laws. These include the right to vote, the right to participate in politics and receive education, as well as call upon their country for legal assistance and protection. Citizenship is generally for life and citizens do not need to fulfil any condition, such as any residency requirement, to retain their citizenship.

How to become a legal citizen:

There are different routes to becoming a legal citizen, depending on the sovereign nation’s nationality law. These include:

• Citizenship by descent (jus sanguinis)
• Citizenship by birth (jus soli)
• Citizenship by marriage (jus matrimonii)
• Citizenship by naturalisation
• Citizenship by investment

In today’s increasingly globalised world, it has become common for citizens to have ties to more than one nation with many considering themselves to be a ‘citizen of the world’.