The word or the concept of citizenship is defined as membership in a political community or a particular country, and carries with it rights to political participation. This means that the person having a citizenship in a particular country is called a citizen of that country. The term citizenship is coterminous with the term nationality, although it is possible to be national of a country without being a citizen. This means that a person may be legally entitled to the protection of a particular country without having rights to political participation. In this sense, the term citizenship means the political rights that an individual has within a particular society or country. Unlike nationality, which is derived from place of birth or ethnicity, citizenship is derived from a legal relationship with a state. This means that a particular individual works can apply for citizenship in a particular country if he or she works towards the improvement and development of a particular country or society through economic participation, public service, volunteer work, and other efforts that aim to improve the life of all its citizens. Thus, in this regard, citizenship in a particular country or society can be either gained, as in naturalization, or lost, as in denaturalization (‘Citizenship’ 2008).
Given the increasing globalization of countries around the globe, it is a given fact that many individuals from different countries settle in more advanced and more sophisticated societies or countries in order to obtain employment and citizenship. The improvement and development of many societies in terms of education, science, technology, and communication led many individuals to travel and settle in other countries in order to pursue their goals and dreams. This has also been supported by the need for many skilled professionals of advanced countries, thus, helping skilled workers from developing countries to establish themselves in such countries that need their services. On most part, such a relationship provides both parties benefits and advantages. However, on the other hand, the concept of “brain-drain” has already been emerging in most developing countries due to the immigration of skilled workers and professionals. With this, it can also be recognized that aside from benefits, a number of disadvantages regarding the situation can be identified.
The fact that immigration of many individuals to other more advanced societies or countries leads one to consider applying for citizenship in one of the most advanced, sophisticated, and history- and culture-rich countries around the world, which is the United Kingdom.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has emphasized the idea of citizenship in the United Kingdom, by stating that:
The idea of citizenship can be addressed more cogently here in Britain than elsewhere because for centuries, Britain has been made up of many nations. As the first- and probably the most successful – multi-national state in the world, we have always had to find ways to bringing people into a United Kingdom. Put it another way: geographically, Britain is a group of islands; historically, it is a set of ideas that have evolved over centuries: brought together uniquely across traditional boundaries and today, united not by race or ethnicity, but by distinctive values that have, over time, shaped the institutions of a multinational state (‘Our Kingdom’ 2008).
From this statement, it can be understood that the country allows and tolerates application of citizenship of many individuals from different parts of the world. This is because the United Kingdom, as any other advanced country or society would like to add in its labor force skilled, highly trained, well-educated, and socially reliable professionals. As such, the process of citizenship in United Kingdom can be specified.
It has been reported that in the United Kingdom, the British Nationality Act of 1981 abandoned territorial birthright citizenship, in favor of parentage based citizenship. Under this law, the United Kingdom’s rule of birthright citizenship changed from law territorial birthright, whereby the place of birth determined citizenship, to one founded on the parent’s citizenship. This either means that a person born within the United Kingdom is not a British citizen by birth unless the person’s father or mother is a British citizen or settled in the United Kingdom. The term “settled” means that the parent of a child or the person applying for citizenship is not in violation of British immigration laws. In addition, the reason that the United Kingdom gave up territorial birthright citizenship after 375 years is multifaceted. One contended reason was the increase in anti-immigrant sentiment in the country following the Second World War. Throughout the 1960s to the 1980s, the United Kingdom continued to harbor protest of the immigration of many non-white immigrants. The multiplicity of political, social, and economic factors, which contributed to the increase in anti-immigrant sentiment eventually led to a series of alterations in the citizen laws of the United Kingdom. In the end, the British Parliament passed four major immigration laws, namely, the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962, the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1968, the Immigration Act of 1971, and the BNA was passed in 1981 (Houston 2000). Following such laws, it can be recognized that having no British parent means that one must be able to apply for naturalization in order to be recognized as a British citizen.
It has been emphasized that applying for naturalization can be done in two ways, namely, applying for naturalization after six years in the United Kingdom, or applying for naturalization after three years in the United Kingdom as a spouse of a British citizen. Prior to application for naturalization, one must be able to pass the “Life in the UK Citizenship Test”. The “Life in the UK Citizen Test” was launched by the government for foreigners who want to become British. To be able to pass this test, one must have to read the book entitled, “Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship”. The contents of this book would be asked in the test, which has 24 questions regarding society, history, culture, and questions about the part of the United Kingdom the person lives in (‘Taking the Test’ 2008; ‘Can you pass a citizenship test’ 2005). The moment the applicant passed the test, he or she now is entitled to undergo the second stage, which is meeting the requirements for naturalization.
If a particular applicant is not married to a British citizen, he or she must meet the following requirements, namely, an age of 18 and above, having a sound mind, of good character, intends to live in the United Kingdom or in Crown Service abroad, or be employed by an international organization of which the United Kingdom is a member, or be employed by a company or association established in the United Kingdom, and must be able to communicate in the English language, or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, although an exemption can be made, if in case one is elderly or mentally handicapped. In addition to the condition that the application must have fulfilled the six-year period of living in the United Kingdom, additional requirements are still recognized. The applicant must have had a permanent residency to be able to apply for naturalization, which has a processing time for about 6 to 7 months. The applicant must have been living in the country at the beginning of the six-year period, and during this period, he or she must not have been outside the country for more than 450 days or about 15 months. During the last 12 months of the six-year period, the applicant must not have been outside the United Kingdom for more than 90 days, and he or she must have held permanent residency or indefinite leave to remain in the country. Lastly, the applicant must not have been living in the United Kingdom in breach of its immigration rules at any time during the six-year ending with the date that the application is received. On the other hand, application for British citizenship can also be done by naturalization after three years in the United Kingdom as a spouse of a citizen of the country. It has been reported that the requirements for naturalization as a spouse of a British citizen are very similar to the requirements of naturalization of an applicant living in the country for 6 years. The only difference in this form of naturalization is that there is a shorter residency requirement of three years in the United Kingdom as opposed to six years. The three years of the residency requirement are counted from the date the applicant passed his or her application. In addition, further details of the requirements can be enumerated. Primarily, the applicant must have been living in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the three-year period. On the date the application is received, the applicant must have permanent residence in the United Kingdom. During the three-year period, the applicant must not have been outside the country for more than 270 days or approximately 9 months. He or she must not have been outside the country for more than 90 days during the last 12 months. Lastly, the applicant must not have been in breach of any immigration rules in the United Kingdom at any time during the three-year period of residence in the country (‘UK Citizenship and Naturalization’ 2008). These two routes are what immigrants and skilled workers undergo through in order to obtain citizenship in the United Kingdom. However, there is another way in obtaining citizenship, which is registration. Furthermore, it has been reported that registration is a simpler method of acquiring citizenship than naturalization. However, only certain people are eligible for it, including British nationals who have indefinite leave to remain or permanent residency in the United Kingdom or right of abode, are eligible for British citizenship by registration after five years’ residence in the country. Registration is an entitlement under S4 of the 1981 Act (‘British Nationality Law’ 2008). In essence, an applicant for British citizenship can choose from the different options, depending on their eligibility.
References
‘British Nationality Law’ 2008, Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, viewed 5 March 2008, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_law>.
‘Can you pass a citizenship test?’ 2005, BBC News, viewed 5 March 2008, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4099770.stm>.
‘Citizenship’ 2008, Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, viewed 5 March 2008, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen>.
Houston, MR 2000, ‘Birthright Citizenship in the United Kingdom and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of the Common Law Basis for Granting Citizenship to Children Born of Illegal Immigrants’, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, vol. 33, issue 3, p. 693.
‘Our Kingdom’ 2008, Our Kingdom: An Open Democracy Project, viewed 5 March 2008, <http://ourkingdom.opendemocracy.net/>.
‘Taking the Test’ 2008, Home Office Border & Immigration Agency, viewed 5 March 2008, <http://www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk/htmlsite/taking_10.html>.
‘UK Citizenship and Naturalization’ 2008, UK Immigration, viewed 5 March 2008, <http://www.ukimmigration.com/family/uk_citizenship.htm>.
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