Citizenship is an allegiance of a person to a state.
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and the conditions under which that status will be withdrawn. Recognition by a state as a citizen generally carries with it recognition of civil, political, and social rights which are not afforded to non-citizens.
In general, the basic rights normally regarded as arising from citizenship are the right to a passport, the right to leave and return to the country or countries of citizenship, the right to live in that country, and to work there.
Some countries permit their citizens to have multiple citizenships, while others insist on exclusive allegiance.
A person can be recognized or granted citizenship on a number of bases. Usually, citizenship based on circumstances of birth is automatic, but an application may be required.
Citizenship by family (jus sanguinis). If one or both of a person's parents are citizens of a given state, then the person may have the right to be a citizen of that state as well. Formerly this might only have applied through the paternal line, but sex equality became common since the late twentieth century. Citizenship is granted based on ancestry or ethnicity and is related to the concept of a nation state common in Europe. Where jus sanguinis holds, a person born outside a country, one or both of whose parents are citizens of the country, is also a citizen. Some states (United Kingdom, Canada) limit the right to citizenship by descent to a certain number of generations born outside the state; others (Germany, Ireland, Switzerland) grant citizenship only if each new generation is registered with the relevant foreign mission within a specified deadline; while others ( for example Italy) have no limitation on the number of generations born abroad who can claim citizenship of their ancestors' country. This form of citizenship is common in civil law countries.
Citizenship by birth (jus soli). Some people are automatically citizens of the state in which they are born.
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