Nationality
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Removed category "Nationalism studies concepts"; Quick-adding category "Concepts (nationalism studies)" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]])
{{Unreferenced|date=May 2007}}
{{Legal status}}
'''Nationality''' is a relationship between a [[person]] and their [[state]] of [[origin]], [[culture]], association, [[affiliation]] and/or [[loyalty]]. Nationality affords the state [[jurisdiction]] over the person, and affords the person the protection of the state.
Traditionally under [[international law]] and [[conflict of laws]] principles, it is the right of each state to determine who its nationals are. Today the law of nationality is increasingly coming under more international regulation by various conventions on [[statelessness]], as well as some multilateral treaties such as the [[European Convention on Nationality]].
Generally, nationality is established at birth by a child's place of birth ([[jus soli]]) and/or bloodline ([[jus sanguinis]]). Nationality may also be acquired later in life through [[naturalization]]. [[Corporation]]s, [[Flag State|ships]], and other [[legal person]]s also have a nationality, generally in the state under whose laws the legal person was formed.
The legal sense of nationality, particularly in the English speaking world, may often mean '''[[citizenship]]''', although they do not mean the same thing everywhere in the world; for instance, in the UK, citizenship is a branch of nationality which in turn ramifies to include other subcategories (see [[British nationality law]]). Citizens have rights to participate in the [[politics|political]] life of the state of which they are a citizen, such as by voting or standing for [[election]]. Nationals need not immediately have these rights; they may often acquire them in due time.
Nationality can also mean membership in a cultural/historical group related to political or national identity, even if it currently lacks a formal state. This meaning is said by some authorities to cover many groups, including [[Kurds]], [[Basques]], [[Catalans]], [[English people|English]], [[Welsh people|Welsh]], [[Scottish people|Scots]], [[Palestinians]], [[Tamils]], [[Quebecers]] and many others.
== Overview ==
Where a country has only one legal system, the law will match the common perception, but where the country is divided into separate [[state (law)|states]], different rules apply. In the [[common law]], upon birth, every person acquires a [[domicile (law)|domicile]]. This is the relationship between a person and a specific legal system. Hence, one might have an [[Australia]]n nationality and a domicile in [[New South Wales]], or an American nationality and a domicile in [[Arizona]].
The '''residents''' of a country generally possess the [[right of abode]] in the territory of the country whose legal documents they hold. This, however, is dependent upon the constitution of the named land, and there are exceptions, particularly among more economically stable nations (e.g., [[British Nationality Law]]).
The person remains subject to the state's [[jurisdiction]] (the ''[[lex domicilii]]'' in [[Conflict of Laws]]) for the purposes of defining [[status (law)|status]] and [[capacity (law)|capacity]] wherever he or she might travel outside the state's territory; in exchange, the individual is entitled to the state's protection, and to other rights as well. This is an aspect of the [[public policy (law)|public policy]] of ''[[parens patriae]]'' and derives from the [[social contract]]. In the [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems of continental [[Europe]], either the law of nationality (known as the ''[[lex patriae]]'') or the law of the place of [[habitual residence]] is preferred to domicile as the test of a person's status and capacity.
Some countries do not permit dual nationality while others only allow a very limited form of dual citizenship (e.g. [[Indian nationality law]], [[South African nationality law]], [[Republic of China nationality law]]). A person who is not a national of any state is declared a [[stateless person]].
In the [[United States]], the term "national" usually means someone who has U.S. nationality, but not [[United States citizenship]], by virtue of living in a U.S. territory. Though it applied to other U.S. territories in the past, today only residents of [[American Samoa]] and [[Swains Island]] are considered U.S. "nationals"; Congress has granted full citizenship to residents of the remaining territories. [[U.S. national|U.S. "nationals"]] have the same rights to enter, live, and work in the United States as citizens; voting rights are the only major difference. Legally, however (and in the broader sense), U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals; [[United States passport]]s do not distinguish between citizens and non-citizen nationals.
== Alternative usage ==
{{ConflictLaw}}
In several non-English speaking areas of the world, the [[cognate]] word for ''nationality'' in local language may be understood as a synonym of [[ethnicity]], as ''[[nation]]'' can be defined as a grouping based on cultural self-determination rather than on relations with a state. For example, many people would say they are [[Kurds]], i.e., of Kurdish nationality, even though no such [[Kurdistan]] [[state]] exists (the postulated homeland is divided among five countries). In the context of former [[Soviet Union]] and former [[SFRY|Yugoslavia]], ''nationality'' is often used as translation of the [[Russian language|Russian]] <!-- ''nacional'nost' '' --> and [[Serbo-Croatian]] <!-- ''narodnost'' --> terms (''национальность/ natsionalnost, народност/narodnost'') used for [[ethnic group]]s and local affiliations within those (former) states. Similarly, the term "[[nationalities of China]]" refers to cultural groups in China. Spain is one Nation, made out by [[Nationalities in Spain|nationalities]], which are not nations, or can be considered smaller nations within the Spanish Nation.
== See also ==
* [[Blood quantum laws]]
* [[Citizenship]]
* [[Demonym]]
* [[Ethnicity]]
* [[Imagined communities]]
* [[Intersectionality]]
* ''[[jus soli]]''
* ''[[jus sanguinis]]''
* [[Meta-ethnicity]]
* [[Nationalism]]
* [[Nationality law]]
* [[Naturalization]]
* [[Second-class citizen]]
* [[Statelessness]]
==External links==
*[http://www.guavastudios.com/nationality-list.htm A list of nationalities] List of nationalities in various formats (CSV, TXT, HTML) for use in databases and applications
*Grossman, Andrew. [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/lgd/2001_1/grossman/ ''Gender and National Inclusion'']
*Trott, Philip D A. [http://www.bateswells.co.uk/articles/Dual%20Nationality.pdf ''Dual Nationality'']
{{Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights}}
{{Human rights}}
[[Category:Nationality law]]
[[Category:Conflict of laws]]
[[Category:Human migration]]
[[Category:Legal categories of people]]
[[Category:Nationalism]]
[[Category:Concepts (nationalism studies)]]
[[bs:Nacionalnost]]
[[cs:Národnost]]
[[de:Nationalität]]
[[et:Kodakondsus]]
[[es:Nacionalidad]]
[[fr:Nationalité]]
[[he:לאומיות]]
[[ko:국적]]
[[nl:Nationaliteit]]
[[ja:国籍]]
[[pl:Narodowość]]
[[pt:Nacionalidade]]
[[ru:Подданство]]
[[simple:Nationality]]
[[th:สัญชาติ]]
[[tr:Milliyet (tüzük)]]
[[zh:國籍]]