GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
CITIZENSHIP
A citizen is a person with full rights to live in a country. Citizens have freedom in a country. They vote, can work and live in their country of citizenship but they also have a responsibility to love, care and defend the country. There are different ways in which people can acquire citizenship.
- Citizenship by birth
- The law of the soil: a person born in a country is a citizen of that country.
- The law of blood: A person becomes a citizen of a country where his/ her parents are citizens.
- Citizenship by marriage: if a person gets married to an individual who is a citizen in a certain country, they can acquire citizenship.
- Citizenship by naturalization
People can apply for citizenship if they stay in a country for a long time, especially if they are contributing to the economy of such a country.