EM 4 - 2018 (ESPAÑOL - digitalizado)

Culture
Citizenship incurs
the rights, rules
and requirements
of being a legally
recognised member of a country.
It is granted or gained in
a number of ways, with almost
all countries having different
requirements regarding
it. Some of these rules are not
internationally compatible, so
there can be cases where two
countries both consider a person
to belong to their nation
and no other. Confusion can
arise when a certain person
meets the requirements
of more than one country’s
citizenship criteria. This can
then lead to problems, if either
or both of those countries
do not recognise or allow
multiple citizenship! On the
other hand, there are many
coun-tries which recognise
individuals as being their
citizens, and citizens of other
countries at the same time.
The Origins
The complicated regulations
of citizenship are
a result of changing trends
in migration. Until the end
of the 1800s, citizenship
was not really dwelled upon
much. Following overseas
travel, people returned to their
homeland – the place where
their heart was, and that was
enough. This all changed
after many Irish-Americans
came from America to fight
in Ireland, then got tried
for treason by the British
authorities who considered
them British citizens. This
led to the Expatriation Act of
1868 in the USA, and similar
acts in Britain and Canada,
which allowed people to
freely renounce their
citizenship (meaning Brits
who had become US citizens
could no longer be charged
with treason). Over the next
century, until World War II,
most countries outlawed dual
citizenship for fear it would
lead to diplomatic problems.
Now however, many countries
(especially those with
high emigration) permit dual
citizenship, by allowing their
citizens to maintain citizenship
despite gaining another,
or by granting citizenship
to others without requiring
them to forfeit their original
citizenship.
Becoming
a Citizen
The most common way
of gaining citizenship is ‘by
descent,’ that is through a parent
or grandparent. It’s recognised
by almost all countries
and does not require a person
to be living in their homeland.
In the UK for example,
a child born to a British citizen
(irrespective of the other
parent’s citizenship) is also
a British citizen, irrespective
of where they are born. If they
were born overseas, though,
their children would not automatically
be British. In other
words, if a British citizen emigrates,
their future children
are eligible for British citizenship,
but their grandchildren
are not (unless they are born
in the UK). None of this is
affected by having another
citizenship.
Birth and
Marriage
Being born in a country
automatically entitles you
to that country’s citizenship
far less commonly than was
once the case. Most American
countries allow this, but
most other countries around
the world do not, for fear of
‘citizenship tourism.’ Still
accepted in the US though,
granted | otorgado, concedido
gained | conseguido, adquirido
regarding sth | con relación a
to arise | surgir
to meet the requirements of
sth | cumplir los requisitos
to lead to sth | llevar a
to dwell upon sth |
preocuparse por
treason | traición
to renounce sth /rɪˈnaʊns/ |
renunciar
to be charged with sth | ser
acusado
to outlaw sth | prohibir, ilegalizar
despite sth | a pesar de
to forfeit sth | renunciar a
by descent | por descendencia
irrespective of sth | sin importar,
independientemente de
though | sin embargo
eligible for sth | con derecho a
unless | a menos que
to entitle sb to sth | dar derecho a
UKMADRID
Centro de Idiomas en Torrejón de Ardoz
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Business English
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