What is citizenship? This question and the answer to it are not of theoretical interest. The fact is that the legal status of an individual in any country in the world is primarily based on this constitutional institution, and therefore this phenomenon is subject to detailed consideration.
Basic concepts
What is citizenship? It can be defined as the volume of rights and obligations arising as a result of a legal relationship with a strictly defined state. So, jurists note that in most systems only those entities that have citizenship can get full access to the country's resources, material and non-material. Such a strict situation may seem discrimination, but from the point of view of state security, it is justified.
In addition to access to complete freedom of legal activity in the country, citizenship guarantees a person who possesses it, certain protection both on its territory and abroad. Moreover, such a right is recognized by other states.
Both of the above possibilities form a special relationship between the individual and the country as subjects of law. It is characterized by stability and mutual delegation of certain sovereignty. And therefore, answering the question of what citizenship is, we can confidently say that this is a special type of relationship in which a person and a state possess and exercise special rights, duties and responsibilities in relation to each other.
Origin of citizenship
Like any phenomenon, citizenship has its starting point. In science, it is customary to distinguish two types of its occurrence: through filiation and naturalization.
The easiest way is filing. It represents the possibility of obtaining citizenship at the time of birth in the territory of a particular state. Moreover, most legislations explicitly state that it is given to the baby, regardless of whether at least one of the parents is a citizen.
A more difficult way is naturalization. In fact, it aims to provide an opportunity for non-citizens to acquire the right to citizenship due to long-term residence in the country. In this case, a number of specific requirements are always set, which the candidate must meet.
Citizenship of the Russian Federation is acquired by using both methods.
Termination of the Institute
It also happens that an individual loses citizenship. In science, there are two main factors of this action: exit and deprivation.
Withdrawal from citizenship is a voluntary act by a citizen, approved and endorsed by the state. Deprivation is the imperative action of the country's authorities to abolish the status of a citizen for good reason, clearly stipulated in the law.
Termination of citizenship of the Russian Federation is possible on both grounds. It is worth mentioning right away that the current legislation provides for a restriction on withdrawal from citizenship to persons who have material debts to the state, as well as to those entities that participate in criminal cases in the status of an accused or convicted person. Deprivation of citizenship can only be carried out if it was obtained by knowingly false documents.
Thus, when answering the question of what citizenship is, it is always worth remembering that this is a special stable relationship between an individual and a country, the emergence and termination of which is strictly regulated by law.