Citizenship - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition citizenship

Definition :

Citizenship, citizenship is intimately connected with civic rights under municipal law. Hence, all citizens are nationals of a particular State, but all nationals may not be citizens of the State. In other words, citizens are those persons who have full political rights as distinguished from nationals, who may not enjoy full political rights and are still domiciled in that country, State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. v. Commercial Tax Officer, (1964) 4 SCR 89: AIR 1963 SC 1811 (1819).

A person who, by either birth or naturalisation, is a member of a political community, owing allegiance to the community and being entitled to enjoy all its civil rights and protections; a member of a civil state, entitled to all its privileges, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn.

In India there is single citizenship. A person is a citizen of India, if (1) he has his domicile in the territory of India, and (a) he was born in the territory of India, or (b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India, or (c) who has been ordinarily resident is the territory of India for not less than five years immediately, before the commencement of the Constitution of India, Constitution of India, Art. 6.

Is governed by law in each country. In U.K., a person may become a citizen by (a) birth, (b) registration, (c) naturalization, and (d) incorporation of territory. In U.S.A., citizenship is a dual concept; acquired by birth or by naturalization; there are federal and State citizenship each with distinct rights and obligations. In Canada, there is no provincial citizenship. Mode of acquisition of citizenship are (1) birth, and (2) certificate of citizenship. In Australia the citizenship is acquired by birth, descent, registration and naturalization, Commentary on the Constitution of India, Durga Das Basu, 6th Edn., Vol. 1, p. 109