Why Is Citizenship Important?
Holding a national citizenship can provide significant social and economic benefits, including enabling economic growth, raising wages for workers, providing certainty for workers and their employers and building a sense of unity among national residents. Citizenship is granted to individuals automatically when they are born into a certain country. It can also be acquired by people as they move from one country to another, provided certain qualifications are met.
While some benefits are also recognized by individuals classified as legal residents, having a full citizenship entitles individuals to many more rights and opportunities. Gaining citizenship allows natural residents and naturalized immigrants alike the opportunity to enjoy higher wages, which provides short-term and long-term financial benefits both for the individuals and the national economy. Upon being granted the right to citizenship, workers often make between 5 and 7 percent higher wages than when working as legal immigrants. Earning higher wages allows workers to spend more money on consumer goods, which benefits the economy. It also allows for investment in the education of children and an improved quality of life. Granting citizenship to naturalized immigrants also benefits natural citizens as base wages rise for those individuals as well. Citizenship also provides employers with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they will not suddenly lose workers to deportation or relocation.
