About of Civic Identity and Citizenship

Citizen and Citizenship

Citizen is a person who is a number of a particular country. Citizenship, on the other hand, refers to the state of being a citizen of a particular country through custom or law. It is the valid card/certificate provided by the State for its citizens as their identity. A person may have multiple citizenships and a person who does not have citizenship of any State is said to be Stateless. The Constitution of Nepal has guaranteed the right to obtain the citizenship to all citizens of Nepal.

Types of Citizenship

The process of acquiring, citizenship varies form country. The major types or norms to obtain it include citizenship by birth, citizenship by descent, naturalized citizenship, dual citizenship, honorary citizenship, second class citizenship, etc. Among them, the first two practices are widely followed by the world communities.

Constitutional Provision on Citizenship in Nepal

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The Articles 10 of part 2 of the Constitution of Nepal has made the provision of ‘single federal citizenship’ with State identity in it. As per the constitution, the citizenship certificate can be issued on four base. Its details have been mentioned below: –

1. Citizenship by Descent: Also known by the name ‘natural citizenship’, this type of citizenship can be acquired through the relation of blood. The bases of acquiring such citizenship are:
2. A person whose father and mother was a citizen of Nepal at his or her birth.
3. A child whose father and mother both are citizens by Nepal by birth prior to the commencement of the constitution.
4. A minor who is found within the border of Nepal and whose father and mother are unknown (until the father or mother is traced).
5. A person born from a woman who is a citizen of Nepal but the father’s identity is unknown.
6. The person who has his or permanent domicile in Nepal at the time prior to the commencement of this constitution.

• Naturalized Citizenship: This type of citizenship can be acquired through the relation of land. The bases of acquiring such citizenship are:
• A person born from a woman who is a citizen of Nepal and married to a foreigner, but has permanently resided in Nepal and not acquired the citizenship of a foreign country.
• A foreign woman married to a Nepali citizen.
• The government of Nepal may grant as per the Federal law.

• Honorary Citizenship: The Government of Nepal may confer the honorary citizenship to those foreigners who excessively contribute to spread the name, fame and glory of Nepal as per the Federal Law.

• Non-residential Citizenship: As per the constitution, a person who has resided in and acquired the citizenship of a foreign country other than the SAARC nations, and who or whose father or mother, grandfather or grandmother was previously a citizen of Nepal by decent or birth but subsequently had acquired the citizenship of the foreign country can apply for such citizenship. However, such citizens may enjoy only the economic, social and cultural rights.

Citizenship and Nationality

A person can gain civic identity or respect mainly through three ways: citizenship, nationally and contribution. Though the concept of citizenship and nationality seem similar, there are core differences underlying in them. One cannot change his nationality but can have different citizenship. For instance, a Nepali can have an American or Canadian citizenship but his/her nationality remains the same. Similarly, people belonging to the European Union may have European Union citizenship but those people’s nationality does not change. Let’s see the differences in concrete form.

S.N	Nationality	Citizenship
1.	It is a feeling of an individual.	It is a legal status of an individual.
2.	It is a applicable to the country born.	It is applicable to the government that rules.
3.	It is belonging to the group having same identity, culture, history, language and other general similarities.	It is belonging to the group having different legal status.
4.	It is obtained through inheritance, and thus is a natural phenomenon.	It is obtained through political framework, and thus may not be natural.
5.	It is permanent or non-changeable.	It can be changed.
6.	It is a broad concept.	It is a narrow concept.
7.	It cannot be honorary. Thus, it is a single entity.	It can be honorary. Hence, it may carry duality.

Despite such differences, the citizens of a country should not forget to develop the sense of nationality and practices it inner heartedly. They must realize that if citizenship goes together with nationality, it paves the better destiny of a nation.

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