Immigration law, regarding foreign citizens, is related to nationality law, which governs the legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship. Immigration laws vary from country to country, as well as according to the political climate of the times, as sentiments may sway from the widely inclusive to the deeply exclusive of new immigrants.
Immigration law regarding the citizens of a country is regulated by international law. The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that all country|countries allow entry to its own citizens.
Certain countries may maintain rather strict laws which regulate the right of entry and internal rights once established: such as the duration of stay, the right to participate in government. Most countries have laws which designate a process for naturalization, by which immigrants may become citizens.
Immigration law in the UK
British Overseas Citizens have identical legal rights to British citizens - distinguished only in title. British citizenship can be obtained as a right for anybody who was born in Britain, or British overseas territory. It is also available as of right for people of whom one parent is a "British (or British Overseas) citizen otherwise than by descent.EU citizens
EU citizens, as created by the Treaty of Rome art 17 have the right to work, provide services or self employment in the UKNon-UK, Non-EU citizens
Immigration Law in the USA
Immigration law is a serious political issue in the USA, as the nation heads towards its 2008 Presidential Elections. Of particular relevance to the debate on immigration is the fact that, due to a backlog in processing immigration applications by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), many would-be citizens will be ineligible to vote in the 2008 Presidential Campaign.See also
- Department of Homeland Security
- Immigration debate
- Immigration to the United States
- Nationality law
- Nativism (politics)
- Passport
References
External links
- PoliticosLatinos.com Videos of 2008 US Presidential Election Candidates' Positions regarding Immigration
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Last updated on Wednesday July 23, 2008 at 17:07:40 PDT (GMT -0700)
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Common principles
Nationality laws in Continental Europe are mostly based upon the Napoleonic Code which established that for purposes of nationality, that of the father was primary. For many years, therefore, in Europe and in former European colonies, women could not transmit their nationality to their children born in wedlock (those children born outside of marriage could often acquire their mother's nationality as there were provisions so that no child would be stateless). Many of these laws have since been changed, with the Arab states being an exception. In many Arab states, women married to foreigners cannot transmit their nationality to their children. 
Many countries also have provisions stating that native-born children of accredited foreign diplomatic staff/officers do not acquire that nationality.
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
- # Everyone has the right to a nationality.
- # No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Today, nationality law is based either on jus soli or jus sanguinis, or on a combination of the two. Jus soli is the principle in which a child born in a country's territorial jurisdiction acquires that country's nationality (Ex: United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France [including in its overseas dependencies]). In jus sanguinis, either the father or mother must normally be a citizen of the country in question in order for the child to be a citizen (e.g. Israel, Switzerland).
Nationality issues in post-colonial context
Often in post-colonial situations, sorting out the nationalities of settlers, colonists and subjects was difficult and often a highly politically-charged process, particularly in the United Kingdom and in so-called settler colonies of Africa, such as South Africa, Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe), Uganda and Hong Kong. For example see History of British nationality law
Examples of nationality law (Citizenship) in specific countries
Europe
| EUROPEAN UNION | |||
| NON EUROPEAN UNION |
Africa
- Egyptian Nationality Law
- Liberian nationality law
- Moroccan nationality law
- South African nationality law
- Code de la nationalité tunisienne
Americas
- Argentine nationality law
- Barbados nationality law
- Brazilian nationality law
- Canadian nationality law
- Chilean nationality law
- Mexican nationality law
- Paraguayan nationality law
- Peruvian nationality law
- United States nationality law
Asia & the Middle East
- Chinese nationality law
- Indian nationality law
- Iraqi nationality law
- Israeli nationality law
- Japanese nationality law
- Kazakhstani nationality law
- Malaysian citizenship
- Nepal citizenship law
- Philippine nationality law
- Republic of China nationality law (Taiwan)
- Singaporean nationality law
- South Korean nationality law
- Turkish nationality law
Oceania
- Australian nationality law
- New Zealand nationality law
- Samoan nationality law
- Tongan nationality law
Other
See also
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Last updated on Monday July 14, 2008 at 15:17:41 PDT (GMT -0700)
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