Nationality vs Citizenship
Nationality and Citizenship are two terms that are often confused as words that convey the same meaning, when there is, in fact, a difference between them. Due to this difference, they should be understood separately and not be used interchangeably. Both of these terms relate to an individual’s status in a country and are important when it comes to living in a country. The ways in which they matter, and the differences between nationality and citizenship, will be discussed in this article.
What is Nationality?
Nationality is a term that determines the place or the country where an individual is born. It is important to note that nationality is derived from inheritance from one’s parents. Nationality can also be derived from a natural phenomenon. One of the most important differences between nationality and citizenship is that nationality cannot be changed. Nationality cannot be offered to someone, so there can be no instance of any country offering honorary nationality to any individual. Nationality is a word that refers to the common culture, traditions, and language of the people of the same nation.
Key Takeaways
- Nationality is a term that determines the place or country where an individual is born, and it cannot be changed.
- Citizenship is the country in which a person has registered their name for citizenship and can be changed according to one’s wish.
- A person of a certain nationality can have citizenship in another country.
What is Citizenship?
Citizenship, on the other hand, is the country in which a person or an individual has registered their name for citizenship. Citizenship can be by birth; a person automatically becomes the citizen of the country of their birth. There are various other reasons to grant citizenship, such as one or both parents being citizens, being married to a citizen, or naturalization. This shows that a person of a particular nationality does not necessarily have to have the citizenship of the same country. They can have citizenship in a different country too. For example, consider a person born in the United States of America. Their nationality is American, but they register with the government of the UK as a citizen. In this case, they are an American national with British citizenship.
A person can become a citizen of a particular country or can attain the citizenship of a particular country only if the political framework of that country accepts their application. In other words, a person can become a citizen of a particular country only if everything goes well in legal terms. Otherwise, their application for citizenship in a particular country can be denied as well. Citizenship can be changed according to one’s wish. Thus, a person can have a different nationality and a different citizenship at a given time. It is not necessary that both should be the same.
It is interesting to note that there are instances of some countries offering honorary citizenship to certain people, especially celebrities and other people of great importance in social and public life. Moreover, citizenship is a word that may not refer to people of the same group. For example, an African may have the citizenship of the United States and yet does not belong to the group of American nationals.
What is the difference between Nationality and Citizenship?
- Nationality is a term that determines the place or the country where a particular individual is born.
- Citizenship is not always automatic but can be granted by the government of the country due to various reasons. A person automatically becomes a citizen of their country of birth. This is the major difference between nationality and citizenship.
- A person of a certain nationality can have the citizenship in another country.
- Birth and inheritance can be ways of getting a nationality. However, citizenship can be obtained in a country other than birth if the government of the relevant country accepts the application for citizenship.
- One of the most important differences between nationality and citizenship is that nationality can never be changed. Citizenship can be changed according to one’s wish.
- Another important difference between nationality and citizenship is that nationality is a word that refers to the common culture, traditions, and language of the people of the same nation, while citizenship may not be so.
It is essential to know that the two words nationality and citizenship should be used with difference and are not interchangeable in their usage.
