Nationality

Nationality Concept of Nationality: Nationality of an individual is a subject of a certain state, and therefore, its citizen. It is not for international law but for municipal law to determine who is and who is not the subject. But Article 1 of the Hague Convention of 1930 relating to 'nationality laws', nationality is for each state. In general, it is the law of nation concerned, those who enjoy political rights and are named citizens. Nationality in the sense of citizenship of a certain state meaning membership of certain nation.

Definition: The term nationality is derived from the word 'national' which simply means the subject of a particular state. According to Howard, nationality is the status of a national person who is attached to a state. Hyde says that it refers to the relationship between a state and an individual.

Nationality and Emigration: As emigration involves the voluntary removal of an individual from his home state with the intention of residing abroad. Emigration is, in fact, entirely a matter of internal legislation of the different states. Every state can fix the conditions under which emigrants lose their nationality. The laws of nations does not yet grant a right of emigration to every individual, although it is frequently maintained that it is a national right of every individual to emigrate from his own state. It is a moral right which could find a place in any international right of man.

Modes of Acquiring Nationality: There are five modes of acquiring nationality, i.e, by birth, through naturalisation, through redintegration, through subjugation and through cession of territory. (a) Nationality by birth: The first and chief mode of acquiring nationality is by birth; indeed, the acquisition of nationality by another mode is exception, since the vast majority of mankind acquires nationality by birth, and does not change it afterwards. (b) Nationality through naturalisation: The most important mode of acquiring nationality besides by birth is that of naturalisation in the wider sense of the term. Through naturalisation, an alien by birth acquires the nationality of the naturalising state. According to the municipal law of the different states naturalisation may take place through six different acts – namely, marriage, legitimation, option, acquisition of domicile, appointment as government official, grant on application. Thus, according to the municipal law of most states, an alien female marrying a subject of such state become thereby ipso facto naturalised. Thus, father, according to the

municipal law of several states, an illegitimate child born of an alien mother, and therefore an alien itself, becomes ipso facto naturalised through the father marrying the mother, and thereby legitimating the child. (c) Nationality through redintegration: The third mode of acquiring nationality is called redintegration or resumption. Such individuals as have been natural-born subjects of a state, but have lost their original nationality through naturalisation abroad or for some other cause, may recover their original nationality on fulfilling certain conditions. This is called redintegration or resumption. (d) Nationality through subjugation and by cession: The fourth and fifth modes of acquiring nationality are by subjugation after conquest and by cession of territory, the inhabitants of the subjugated and the ceded territory acquiring ipso facto by the subjugation or cession the nationality of the state which acquires the territory.

Modes of Losing Nationality: There are five modes of losing nationality, although all five are no means recognised by all the states. These are release, deprivation, expiration, option and substitution: (a) Release: Some states, such as Germany, give their citizens the right to ask to be released from their nationality. Such releases, if granted, denationalises the released individual. (b) Deprivation: For example, according to the municipal law of some states, as, for instance, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Holland, Portugal, and Spain, the fact that a citizen enters into foreign civil or military service without permission of his sovereign deprives him of his nationality. (c) Expiration: Some states have legislated that citizenship expires in the case of such of their subjects as have left the country and stayed abroad a certain length of time. For instance, a naturalised citizen of United States of America as a rule loses his citizenship by residing for two years in the country of his origin or for five years in any other foreign state. Or, again, the American citizenship of a woman who acquired it by marriage to an American man expires in case she is living abroad at the time when her husband dies or her marriage is dissolved, unless within one year after such an event she registers as an American citizen before the US consul. (d) Option: For example, some states, Great Britain for instance, which declare a child born of foreign parents on their territory to their natural-born subject, although he / she becomes at the same time, according to the municipal law of the home state of the parents, a subject of such state, give the right to such child to make, after coming of age, a declaration that he desires to cease to be a citizen. (e) Substitution: According to the law of many states, as, for instance, Great Britain, the nationality of their subjects is extinguished ipso facto by their naturalisation abroad, be it through marriage, grant on application, or otherwise. Some states, however, do not object to their citizens acquiring another nationality besides that which already possess.