What is Citizenship?

Its relationship to Nationality and Passports

It might seem like a trivial question. Most people are simply born with the citizenship of a particular country (or if they are lucky, with several). But some people, likely academics, might see this as an inherently complex question because it can have legal, political, socio-psychological and historical connotations.

The focus of this article is not socio-psychological or even necessarily political.

We’re here to talk about legal citizenship and what it entails.

… Not Permanent Residence

This is perhaps the easiest distinction that can be drawn. When someone has permanent residence in a country, this does not at all mean that they have legal citizenship. They lack full political rights and therefore they can’t vote or run for public office. They also can’t work in national security or diplomacy. Their rights are usually limited to the most basic residence, employment, and some social benefits.

Even though people with this status have the right to reside in a particular country, they can also lose the status of permanent resident if they leave the country for a certain amount of time or commit certain crimes. All of this also means that they do not have a passport for that particular country, which brings us to the next distinction.

… Not a Passport