Editing Nationality (section)

{{short description|Legal status establishing the person as a subject of a sovereign state}}
{{about|legal status between a country and its subjects|a person's sense of belonging to a nation|National identity|citizenship of a country|Citizenship}}
{{missing information|many countries|date=August 2019}}
{{Legal status of persons}}
{{Conflict of laws}}
'''Nationality''' is the [[legal]] status of belonging to a particular [[nation]], defined as a [[Social group|group]] of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nationality Definition & Meaning {{!}} Britannica Dictionary |url=https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/nationality |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Publishers |first=HarperCollins |title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: nationality |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=nationality&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=www.ahdictionary.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=nationality |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/nationality |website=Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref>

In [[international law]], nationality is a [[Identity document|legal identification]] establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a [[sovereign state]]. It affords the state [[jurisdiction]] over the person and affords the person the protection of the state against other states.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boll |first=Alfred Michael |title=Multiple Nationality And International Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mr6Y45439A0C |year=2007 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-14838-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mr6Y45439A0C&pg=PA114 114] |access-date=2020-02-19 |archive-date=2020-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726132542/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mr6Y45439A0C |url-status=live }}</ref> The rights and duties of nationals vary from state to state,<ref name="Weis1979">Weis, Paul. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hSLGDXqXeegC&pg=PA29 ''Nationality and Statelessness in International Law''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624044720/https://books.google.com/books?id=hSLGDXqXeegC&pg=PA29 |date=2016-06-24 }}. BRILL; 1979 [cited 19 August 2012]. {{ISBN|9789028603295}}. p. 29–61.</ref> and are often complemented by [[citizenship]] law, in some contexts to the point where citizenship is synonymous with nationality.<ref>{{cite book |title=Nationality and Statelessness: A Handbook for Parliamentarians |publisher=[[UNHCR]] and [[Inter-Parliamentary Union|IPU]] |issue=11 |year=2005 |access-date=2020-07-16 |url=http://archive.ipu.org/PDF/publications/nationality_en.pdf |archive-date=2021-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501071045/http://archive.ipu.org/PDF/publications/nationality_en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> However, nationality differs technically and legally from citizenship, which is a different legal relationship between a person and a country. The noun "national" can include both citizens and non-citizens. The most common distinguishing feature of citizenship is that citizens have the right to participate in the political life of the state, such as by [[voting]] or [[Candidate|standing for election]]. However, in most modern countries all nationals are citizens of the state, and full citizens are always nationals of the state.<ref name="Kadelbach" />

In [[international law]], a "[[stateless person]]" is someone who is "not considered as a national by any [[State (polity)|state]] under the operation of its law".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/415c3cfb4.html|title=Refworld &#124; The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: Implementation within the European Union Member States and Recommendations for Harmonisation|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|last=Refugees|website=Refworld|access-date=July 29, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812040512/https://www.refworld.org/docid/415c3cfb4.html|url-status=live}}</ref> To address this, Article 15 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] states that "Everyone has the right to a nationality", and "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality", even though, by international [[Customary international law|custom]] and conventions, it is the right of each state to determine who its nationals are.<ref>[http://eudo-citizenship.eu/InternationalDB/docs/Convention%20on%20certain%20questions%20relating%20to%20the%20conflict%20of%20nationality%20laws%20FULL%20TEXT.pdf Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226230108/http://eudo-citizenship.eu/InternationalDB/docs/Convention%20on%20certain%20questions%20relating%20to%20the%20conflict%20of%20nationality%20laws%20FULL%20TEXT.pdf |date=2014-12-26 }}. The Hague, 12 April 1930. Full text. Article 1, "It is for each State to determine under its own law who are its nationals...".</ref> Such determinations are part of [[nationality law]]. In some cases, determinations of nationality are also governed by [[public international law]]—for example, by [[Treaty|treaties]] on [[statelessness]] or the [[European Convention on Nationality]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spiro |first1=Peter |title=A New International Law of Citizenship |journal=American Journal of International Law |date=2011 |volume=105 |issue=4 |pages=694–746 |doi=10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.4.0694 |s2cid=143124544 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/new-international-law-of-citizenship/4698CDED726B0311863D0EAD635E355C |access-date=2021-03-30 |archive-date=2021-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227175106/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/new-international-law-of-citizenship/4698CDED726B0311863D0EAD635E355C |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> For when a person lacks nationality, globally only 23 countries have established dedicated statelessness determination procedures. Even where such procedures exist, they still have shortcomings in accessibility and functionality, preventing stateless people from accessing rights connected to being determined stateless.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-30 |title=Statelessness determination in Europe and beyond: Trends and good practices |url=https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/blog/statelessness-determination-europe-and-beyond-trends-and-good-practices?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=European Network on Statelessness |language=en}}</ref>

The general process of acquiring nationality is called [[naturalization]]. Each state determines in its [[nationality law]] the conditions ([[statute]]) under which it will recognize persons as its nationals, and the conditions under which that status will be [[Loss of citizenship|withdrawn]]. Some countries permit their nationals to have [[Multiple citizenship|multiple nationalities]], while others insist on exclusive [[allegiance]].

Due to [[Nation#Etymology and terminology|the etymology of nationality]], in older texts or other languages the word "nationality", rather than "ethnicity", is often used to refer to an [[ethnic group]] (a group of people who share a common ethnic identity, language, culture, lineage, history, and so forth). Individuals may also be considered nationals of groups with [[autonomous administrative division|autonomous status]] that [[devolution|have ceded some power]] to a larger sovereign state.

Nationality is also employed as a term for [[national identity]], with some cases of [[identity politics]] and [[nationalism]] conflating the legal nationality as well as ethnicity with a national identity.