Citizens are individuals associated on a political and legal basis with a specific state. This allows them to have certain rights, but also imposes certain responsibilities. According to their legal status, citizens of a certain state differ from foreigners or persons who do not have citizenship at all, but are located on the territory of a given country.
Foreign citizens are those who have their rights and obligations, but on the territory of their state and in accordance with the laws that the legislation of a particular country provides for them. Accordingly, they do not have similar rights in a foreign state, but are obliged to comply with its laws.
Citizens of Russia
In legal terms, a Russian citizen is a person who has legal affiliation with his state. In states with a monarchical system of government, the term is changed to another - “nationality”, the meaning of which is almost equivalent.
Extradition of a citizen of the Russian Federation to another state is impossible even for the purposes of legal proceedings. The country guarantees all its citizens the necessary protection and protection even beyond the borders of its territory.
But in response, the state imposes on citizens certain duties that they must fulfill and laws that must be observed. Therefore, even outside the country, he must comply with the requirements of the constitution of his state. A citizen of the Russian Federation is a person who can be sure that even due to a long absence from the country he will not lose his citizenship.
How does a person become a citizen?
Citizens are persons who have citizenship. But how to get it? It is assigned to a child after birth if at that moment one or both parents have Russian citizenship. If one parent is a Russian citizen and the other is a foreign national, the child must be born on the territory of the Russian Federation to automatically obtain citizenship. If both parents are foreign citizens living on the territory of the Russian Federation, and another foreign state denies citizenship to the newborn, then Russia grants it to the child, in accordance with the law on the place of birth.
The second way to obtain citizenship is naturalization. That is, upon reaching the age of 18, a legally capable person can apply to obtain the status of “citizen of Russia,” but subject to permanent residence in the country continuously for 5 years.
There is also a simplified system for obtaining citizenship for scientists, highly qualified specialists, persons who require political asylum, and refugees. Persons who previously had Russian citizenship but have lost it can simply restore it. According to federal law, citizenship can be obtained through adoption.
Rights of a Russian citizen
Every citizen has a full range of rights that are generally recognized as human, and in addition those that are provided for in a given state. Citizens of a country are people living on its territory and having its citizenship. A Russian has the right to freedom of choice, participation in referendums, can be elected to government power, be a deputy, judge, investigator, prosecutor, police and security officer, customs officer, military man, diplomat, captain of aircraft and ships. He can be elected president of the country.
What laws talk about children's rights?
The basic rights of the child are set out in:
Declaration of the Rights of the Child, proclaimed by Resolution 1386 (XIV) of the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1959.
The Declaration established 10 principles that everyone who wanted to ensure their children a happy childhood was encouraged to follow:
Principle 1 – the child must have all the rights specified in the Declaration.
Principle 2: The child shall be provided, by law and other means, with special protection and with opportunities and favorable conditions to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.
Principle 3 – a child should have the right to a name and citizenship from birth.
Principle 4 – the child must benefit from social security.
Principle 5 – a child who is physically, mentally or socially disabled should be provided with the special treatment, education and care necessary due to his special condition.
Principle 6 – a child needs love and understanding for the full and harmonious development of his personality.
Principle 7 – The child has the right to education, which should be free and compulsory, at least in the initial stages.
Principle 8 – The child should, in all circumstances, be among those first to receive protection and assistance.
Principle 9 – The child must be protected from all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.
Principle 10 – The child must be protected from practices that may encourage racial, religious or any other form of discrimination.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted November 20, 1989).
The Constitution of the Russian Federation, which provides:
– ensuring state support for family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood (Article 7);
– motherhood and childhood, as well as the family are under the protection of the state (Article 38).
The Family Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for the following rights of the child:
– live and be raised in a family (Article 54);
– know your parents and communicate with them (Articles 54, 55);
– to the care of parents (Article 54);
– to live together with parents (Article 54);
Responsibilities of a Russian citizen
By ensuring Russian citizens their rights, the state has the right to demand from them certain behavior, which is legally enshrined - in accordance with the law. Therefore, there are a number of duties, and punishment is established for failure to fulfill them.
Simply put, duty is the proper behavior of a citizen. Some of the responsibilities apply to everyone who lives in the state. For example: paying taxes, caring for nature and monuments, caring for cultural and historical heritage, taking care of children and parents who are currently disabled. A citizen is a person who has a military duty, since citizens must be able to defend their country in critical cases.
Concepts child, young child, parent
Before discussing further the rights of the child, it is necessary to define the following concepts:
a child is a person under 18 years of age (Article 54 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation);
a young child is a minor under 14 years of age (Article 28 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
parents are those persons who are obliged to take care of children and their upbringing (Article 38 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).
Also quite often there are concepts that are not defined by law, but are defined by law enforcement practice. These concepts include:
- single parent;
- legal representative;
- (single mother).
Military duty of Russian citizens
Citizens are people obliged to perform military service. It includes: registration, training, conscription and service, being in the reserve, conscription and conscription service from the reserve.
When turning 17 years old, young people are required to register with the local military registration and enlistment office and appear at the time specified on the agenda. Violation of the rules and failure to appear will result in a warning or fine.
All persons from 18 to 27 years of age are accepted for service, with the exception of those who have a deferment or exemption. They bear criminal liability for evasion. The term of conscription service is 2 years, for those who graduated from college - 1 year. The contract covers the service period specified in it.
Citizens may be exempt from service for health reasons if they have an academic degree of doctor or candidate of sciences or relatives who died during military service. According to the law, a deferment is possible for some citizens if they have two or more children under 3 years of age. Also, those individuals who are undergoing full-time training receive a deferment, but only until its completion. It can be obtained no more than twice.
Multiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship implies having multiple citizenships of foreign countries. Responsibilities continue and increase in number. Such citizens (subjects) must bear military duty in several states at once, pay taxes in several countries, and are deprived of the opportunity to occupy certain positions, for example, judge, lawyer, etc.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation allows citizens of their country to have multiple citizenship, but only if this is permitted by the law of another country or an international treaty. Such persons are considered by Russia as citizens of the Russian Federation, except in cases provided for by law. Russian citizenship is not deprived, even if there are others at the same time.
The concept and essence of citizenship
In accordance with its sovereign position, the state enters into legally formalized relations with the people living in it and gives them rights, the establishment of which is specified in the law. Being a citizen means that a person has a stable connection with his country, and this fact is fixed by law. This relationship presupposes ongoing mutual obligations.
Upon reaching 14 years of age, the state hands the person a document confirming this relationship and certifying his connection with the country - a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation (read what other documents confirm Russian citizenship here).
The definition of reciprocity is an essential feature of citizenship.
Other signs include:
- Legal regulation: relations between an individual and the state are exclusively legal in nature.
- Political aspect: the fact of citizenship confirms the sovereignty of Russia, and the citizens themselves are the source of power in the country and form the people.
- Temporal and spatial extent. The essence of this is that citizenship is by no means a short-term connection, it persists in any space-time conditions until it is terminated.
- Federal character: subjects of the Russian Federation may have their own citizenship, but it is not more significant than the all-Russian one, or is not equal to it.
IMPORTANT! No matter what subject of the federation where a person lives, the status of a citizen of the Russian Federation is the same for everyone.
No republics or other entities within Russia can establish their own citizenship, which would conflict with constitutional provisions.
Regardless of which subject of the federation a Russian citizen lives or is located, as such he has the same legal status as he would have if he were in any other subject. This characteristic is a common feature for all citizens.
If some republic within Russia assumes the presence of its own citizenship, this does not mean the existence of a dual one - republican, and parallel to it all-Russian.
Only one thing is recognized - Russian. This provision is called the principle of unity (you can learn about other principles and concepts of citizenship of the Russian Federation here).
Other principles:
- All people are equal, regardless of how citizenship was acquired and also of what social group a person belongs to.
- You cannot be deprived of citizenship if it was obtained legally; this also applies to those who permanently reside outside of Russia.
- Outside the will of the individual himself, no one else has the power to change his citizenship.
- A citizen of the Russian Federation cannot be punished by deportation from the country or transferred to another state, regardless of his request.
- People living in Russia but without citizenship can obtain it here.
- People can have dual citizenship if this complies with the law or an international treaty. At the same time, all rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law of the country remain in full force and effect.
How do you obtain foreign citizenship?
A foreign citizen is a person who is in the territory of one country, but has the citizenship of another. If desired, you can obtain a second citizenship, which is considered foreign. This can be done through naturalization, which is a special procedure for this purpose. Any country has immigration legislation that clearly defines this procedure and the procedure for obtaining citizenship.
Citizenship of the USA, England, EU countries and the Schengen agreement are the most in demand at the moment. And, for example, in the state of St. Kitts and Nevis there is no naturalization procedure; instead, it is enough to make a certain contribution to the sugar industry and after 12 weeks you can receive citizenship and a passport. Moreover, it becomes possible to visit 80 countries without a visa.
The most prestigious option is considered to be participation in investments. There is such a program in the USA. Canada, England and several other countries. Its essence is that with a certain amount of investment you can obtain a residence permit, and with the help of this, then citizenship. There are also programs in which the required amount to obtain foreign citizenship is issued on credit.
How does naturalization occur?
There is a special procedure and requirements, which we will briefly discuss below.
- The person being naturalized must have legal capacity and not leave the territory of Russia for at least five years. At the same time, he must have a residence permit. This period may be shorter, for example, if a person is an outstanding specialist in any field, and his knowledge and skills are greatly needed in Russia.
- The necessary requirements for naturalization are:
- availability of means of subsistence, the source of which is legal;
- sufficient knowledge of the Russian language;
- obligation to comply with the Constitution;
- if necessary, renunciation of citizenship of another country.
- You need to submit documents to the migration service.
- After consideration, a decision is made.
- The final moment is the publication of a decree by the president of the country on admission to citizenship.
Responsibilities of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation
Foreign citizens also have responsibilities: they must pay taxes and fees, take care of the environment and preserve it, protect natural resources, as well as architectural and historical monuments, respect the Constitution of the Russian Federation and comply with all laws that apply on the territory of Russia.
There are also special duties that foreign citizens must perform. These include registration on the territory of the Russian Federation within 3 working days with the migration service. For those living on the territory of the Russian Federation, re-registration is required every year; at the end of the shortened period of residence, the foreigner must leave the country within 3 days. If a permanent or temporary residence permit is revoked, he is obliged to leave the Russian Federation within 15 days, handing over his migration card upon departure. Also, foreign citizens must fulfill property obligations.
