Concept, methods of acquisition and termination of citizenship

Let's consider the concept, methods of acquiring and terminating citizenship

Citizenship concept

A person’s belonging to a particular state is a significant legal prerequisite for establishing the legal status of a person. The concept of " citizenship"

“is determined by the stable political and legal connection of an individual with a certain state, which presupposes mutual rights, duties, and responsibilities.

The concept of "nationality"

used in states with a monarchical form of government. This person is subject to state sovereignty: the government recognizes and guarantees human freedoms and rights, protects him abroad. At the same time, the citizen complies with the legislation of the state, fulfills the instructions and obligations established by it.

Citizenship as a subjective right

consists of a system
of powers
. The most typical of them include the following powers:

– be located on the territory of the state;

– have a full range of rights, freedoms and responsibilities;

– hold any public office;

– freely leave and enter the territory of your state;

- enjoy the patronage of state power.

Methods of acquiring citizenship

Most people acquire citizenship by birth

.
Its acquisition on this basis is called filiation
.

Among the methods of acquiring citizenship

distinguish between
the principle of “law of blood”
and
the principle of “law of soil”
.
In the first case,
the child receives the citizenship of his parents, regardless of his place of birth.
In the second case,
the child acquires citizenship of the state in whose territory he was born, regardless of his status with his parents.

Currently, the purchasing method is

"
law of the soil
" prevails in the countries of the American continent.
The method of acquisition by
“
right of blood
” prevails in the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
In the legislation of most states there is a mixed system
, in which the dominance of the acquisition method according to the “law of blood” is combined with the “law of soil”.

Conflicts in legislation on the problems of acquiring a stable connection with the state often become the reason for the emergence of dual citizenship

. A person can receive it already at birth.

A fairly common way in the modern world to acquire citizenship is admission to it.

.
Its implementation at the request of a foreigner is called naturalization
.

Naturalization by force of law

becomes a type of admission to citizenship that does not involve a person’s personal choice.
For example,
in Italy, when a foreigner marries an Italian, the person automatically acquires Italian citizenship. Naturalization by operation of law can be the legal result of recognition of paternity, establishment of guardianship, or entry into military or government service in some states.

Individual naturalization

implemented on the basis of a person’s personal statement.
In most countries, such a petition is submitted to the head of state, and admission to it in each individual case is formalized by his special decree
.

As a rule, naturalization

takes place after a foreign citizen has lived for a more or less long time on the territory of a given country (the so-called “
residence qualification
”).

In addition, the conditions for naturalization

a person may have property requirements, knowledge of the state language, etc. The legislation of foreign countries also provides other ways to acquire citizenship.

Termination of citizenship

implies a complete severance of ties between the citizen and the state.
It can be realized as a result of voluntary withdrawal from it
or as a result of its
deprivation
by a person who has committed actions that cause damage to the country.

As a rule, deprivation of citizenship

applies only to naturalized citizens if they received it as a result of deception and forgery of documents. Persons who have lost their citizenship for certain reasons may subsequently apply for its restoration.

In some countries (Switzerland, USA) there is an institute of honorary citizenship

, which performs primarily political and propaganda functions.

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The concept of citizenship and methods of acquiring it

Citizenship is understood as a stable legal connection between an individual and a certain state, which is expressed in the presence of mutual rights and obligations of an individual and the state established by law in relation to each other. These mutual rights and obligations are determined by the national legislation of the state: the constitution and laws.

A citizen who is outside his country retains a legal connection with his state: he continues to have all the rights that he is entitled to in his state and is obliged to fulfill his civil obligations to it. The state, in turn, guided by national legislation and international law, protects the citizen on its territory, guarantees him the opportunity to exercise his rights and provides him with state (diplomatic and other) protection when abroad. In special cases specified in international treaties, a person has the right to apply for restoration and protection of his violated rights to international organizations.

The concept of “citizenship” is broader than the concept of “nationality”, which was used in the feudal era and the era of the formation of capitalist society. Subjects in monarchical countries had very limited political rights (or did not have them at all in colonial countries) and did not participate in the formation and activities of government bodies and administration. With the development of capitalism, the institution of citizenship gradually changed or was replaced by the institution of citizenship.

Citizenship can be obtained

by birth
(the main method), by naturalization , reintegration (restoration of citizenship), grant and on .
Acquisition of citizenship by birth is based on:

the principle of "right of blood"

according to which the citizenship of a child is determined by the citizenship of his parents (or one of them) and does not depend on the place of birth of the child (many countries in Europe and Asia);

the principle of "right of soil"

according to which a child acquires the citizenship of the state in whose territory he was born, regardless of the citizenship of his parents (many Latin American countries);

combination of both principles

(mixed principle), according to which children of their own citizens born in the country and abroad, as well as children of foreigners born in the territory of a country that applies the principle of “jus soli” (England, India, USA, France, etc.), receive citizenship.

The acquisition of citizenship by naturalization can be carried out: at the request of a person who wants to change his citizenship or who does not have any citizenship at all; when marrying a foreigner; when adopting a child who has citizenship of another state or has no citizenship at all. Naturalization is carried out either by a decree of the highest government body (in Russia - by a decree of the President of Russia), or by a decision of the department of foreign affairs (England), or by a decision of a judicial body (the Supreme Court in the USA). At the same time, granting citizenship or refusing a request is the sovereign right of the state.

The national legislation of most states contains certain conditions for naturalization: period of residence

(residence qualification): in Russia - 5 or 3 years, for refugees this period is halved;
in France and the USA - 5 years; in England and Norway - 7 years; in Spain - 10 years, etc.; knowledge of the language
of a given state (USA, Estonia, etc.);
reaching a certain age
(18 years in Russia, the USA, etc.);
do not advocate a violent change in the constitutional system
(Russia)
, do not be an enemy of the existing system
(USA), etc.

Reintegration is the restoration of original citizenship in a simplified manner. Reintegration generally applies to persons who previously emigrated from the country or lost citizenship as a result of marriage to a foreigner and return to their home country after the death of a spouse or divorce. Restoration of Russian citizenship is provided for in Art. 30 of the Law “On Citizenship of the RSFSR”. 1

Grant of citizenship - granting citizenship to a person (for special merits and with his consent) who is a citizen of a foreign state. Thus, some USSR cosmonauts who flew into space with citizens of some former socialist countries were awarded honorary citizenship of these countries. Honorary Russian citizenship is awarded in accordance with Art. 8 of the Law “On Citizenship of the RSFSR”.

The acquisition of citizenship on the basis of international treaties takes place: when two or more states unite into one or when a large state collapses; when concluding peace treaties, repatriation agreements, special agreements on territorial issues relating to the transfer of part of the territory from one state to another (cession), the exchange of individual sections of territory, the sale of part of the territory.

With territorial changes, the following are possible:

option - a voluntary choice of citizenship by submitting individual applications, when the optant will live in the territory of the state to which the territory of his residence is transferred. If the optant wishes to retain the citizenship of the state transferring the territory, then he must be resettled in the state of his citizenship within the time period established by the agreement, preserving his property rights and compensation for the property left behind. The option took place after the Second World War under the Treaty between the USSR and Czechoslovakia on Transcarpathian Ukraine in 1945, under the Peace Treaty with Italy in 1947 when transferring the islands that went from Italy to Greece and Yugoslavia;

transfer - an automatic change of citizenship, when, along with the transfer of territory, citizenship automatically changes, regardless of the consent or disagreement of the population of the transferred territory. In fact, the transfer was carried out during the unification of the GDR with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Loss of citizenship (expatriation) can occur: when renouncing citizenship at the voluntary request of a person; upon naturalization; upon deprivation of citizenship. Despite the fact that international law prohibits deprivation of citizenship, the top leadership of the CPSU often resorted to deprivation of citizenship and deportation abroad of persons who dared to criticize the existing political regime in the USSR.

What are the ways to terminate citizenship?

It happens that a person expresses a desire to end all legal relations with the state. Let us remind you that the acquisition and termination of citizenship is the choice of each individual person. In the Russian Federation, this legal institution is free. It should also be noted that the grounds for acquiring and terminating citizenship are established at the legislative level. The Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” provides for two ways to interrupt legal ties with Russia. The first of them, the general one, is renunciation of citizenship. In order to lose legal protection from the state, a person only needs to submit a corresponding application to the authorized bodies. However, such requirements are not always met. Thus, renunciation of citizenship is not allowed in cases where a person has obligations to the state (for example, has tax arrears), is charged as a defendant in a criminal case or is serving a sentence for criminal acts, and also does not have other citizenship and guarantees of its acquisition. The second method of interrupting communication with the country - a simplified one - is established for persons who permanently reside in other states, as well as for children whose mother or father is a foreigner.

Main methods and grounds for acquiring citizenship

There are several grounds for acquiring citizenship. Conventionally, they can be divided into two large categories. The first is the right to citizenship at birth. To the second - all the rest.

Despite the short name “citizenship by birth,” it is on this basis that the vast majority of the population of almost any country becomes citizens. And the share of all other citizens who received the corresponding status on other grounds is much smaller. This is true even for countries whose population is increasing primarily due to immigration population growth - Australia, New Zealand, Canada...

Citizenship that is not acquired by birth is acquired by naturalization. This term refers to the legal process of obtaining citizenship of a certain state on the basis of the voluntary desire of the applicant, as a result of which he acquires the rights of natural citizens.

The main difference between citizenship by birth and by naturalization is that the former is acquired automatically, while the latter is acquired on the initiative of the applicant.

The main difference between citizenship by birth and by naturalization is that the former is acquired automatically, while the latter is acquired on the initiative of the applicant