Government policies on citizenship - Essay Example

Government policies on citizenship Affiliation: The objective is to create an argument with at least three sources that is created by the comparison and contrast.IntroductionCitizenship is the legal status of a person to be a national of a country. Other than being born as a citizen of a particular nation, there are other ways of acquiring citizenship though the rules and policies vary from one country to another. In this essay, there will be comparison and contrast of the citizenship policies and acts between Canada and United States.

Arguments surrounding these citizenship policies will also be brought out and discussed in detail.According to the citizenship acts and policies of the two governments, there are majorly two ways of acquiring citizenship in those countries: by birth and by naturalization. In Canada for example, the citizenship act states that citizenship becomes automatic for any person born in Canada or born of Canadian parents after February 14th, 1977. This is the citizenship status acquisition by birth. The same is true for children born in the United States or born of American parents (they immediately qualify to be citizens).

Citizenship by birth is however challenged when it comes to children who are not born in these respective countries but whom are adopted by the parents who are citizens of these nations. According to the Canadian citizenship act, there is a gray area where this issue is concerned. The issue has however been mentioned by the Department of Justice though the meaning remains vague and ambiguous. The same cannot be said to be true in the US as there is no mention of such matter by the department of State Bureau of Consular affairs which is charged with the responsibility of citizenship.

This probably explains why questions are raised about couples who adopt children outside the jurisdiction of the United States and what will become of such children where citizenship is concerned. Most of such individuals when they grow up are forced to apply citizenship through naturalization method and this is not tight since their adoption is by American citizen parents just like those born by them. When it comes to naturalization, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services categorize the people who should or should not receive citizenship.

This department handles such issues because most of the rules surrounding this type of naturalization depend on how long an individual has been in the country which is under the jurisdiction of immigration. In both countries (Canada and USA), the rules of application of citizenship by naturalization are strict and require the individual to have permanently resided in those countries for a number of years. The argument for this is that the person is sure what type of country it is, the rules and regulations present in that country and even the culture of the people.

ConclusionIt is not easy to become a citizen by naturalization in both countries when one has criminal record or fails the naturalization test which sometimes is unfair for those who have resided in those countries for a very long time. Unlike in the United States where there is an allowance of dual citizenship for those who wish to retain their citizenship right acquired by birth, Canada lacks that provision openly. According to the Department of Justice, this is to discourage people from taking advantage of this government as they would not be fully committed when they have another alternative.

This is not necessarily true but the citizenship policies have to be abided no matter what. ReferencesCitizenship and Nationality. (n.d) Retrieved fromhttp://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_782.htmlDepartment of Justice. (2009). Citizenship Act. Retrieved from: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.caU.S Citizenship and Imigration Services (n.d) Citizenship Through Naturalization. Retrievedfromhttp://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD