Understanding Legal Terms: Citizenship and Migration

Legal Terminology

History of Migration

• The first migration was in 1550 of the slave trade from African coasts.
• The second was after the Second World War.

History of Citizenship

• It started in Ancient Greece, where those who had legal rights were considered citizens.

Citizenship and Nationality

• It is a bond between an individual and the state.
• It is the state of being a member of a particular country and having rights.
• It is a particular legal bond.

Ideal

• It is a legal-political relationship linking a person to a state, which is a legal bond because it determines certain rights and obligations.

Types of Nationality

• By law
• By naturalization
• By dependency

Emigration

• A movement of an individual or group of people from one place to another. It could be internal or international.

International Migration

• A movement of persons away from their place of usual residence.
• Asylum: An individual who is seeking international protection.
• Refugees: A person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted, is outside the country of his nationality.
• Not every asylum seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, but every refugee could be an asylum seeker.

Revocation or Loss of Citizenship: Reasons

• If he engages in military service for a foreign country without permission from the state, is ordered to leave the service, and refuses to do so, or works for the benefit of a hostile country.
• If he is repeatedly convicted of crimes violating honor and trustworthiness.
• If it appears that there was forgery or fraud in the essential data on which he relied in acquiring the nationality of the state.

Citizenship and Migration Management

• Entry and admission of migrants.
• The application of different rules reflects different interests.

Dual and Multiple Citizenship

• Linked with mobility, especially for those citizens coming from specific countries whose passports do not provide easy mobility.
• Can be connected to economic reasons.

Reasons for Migration

• Economic
• Social
• Political
• Environmental

Factors of Migration

• Expulsion factors: Poverty, natural disasters, the spread of unemployment.
• Attraction factors: New job opportunities, high income, technological improvement.

Types of Migration

• Transcontinental migration
• Internal migration
• Rural-to-urban migration
• Forced or involuntary migration
• Forced migration
• Return migration
• Seasonal migration

Effects of Immigration

• Effect on the sending countries
• Effect on the host countries

Positive Effects of Immigration

• Cultural diversity and cognitive richness
• Fills any labor shortages
• Paying immigrants less than natives

Negative Effects of Immigration

• High cost of health and educational services
• Overpopulation
• Cultural and social differences