Citizenship can also be acquired by an alien and it is called naturalised citizenship. Modern States differ widely in their attitude toward admitting aliens to citizenship by formal grant of naturalization.
Citizenship conferred by this process “is gratuitous concession” on the part of the State to which naturalization is sought and it may be granted under prescribed conditions or may be refused for any reason which the State considers sufficient.
In some States, the process is made easy and resident aliens are encouraged to acquire citizenship, in others the process is so difficult as to discourage the admission of new citizens. There are, however, some rules which are in usual practice.
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The first is the rule of residence. All States prescribe a minimum period of an alien’s residence in the State. In Britain and the United States it is five years whereas in France the period is ten years. In Japan the requirement of the minimum period of residence is waived if an alien married to a Japanese woman applies for naturalization.
Secondly, an alien desiring naturalization is required to make a declaration on the prescribed form, of his intention to that effect. Thirdly, he must renounce his previous citizenship and take an oath of allegiance to the State of which he intends to become a naturalized citizen.
Some States insist on the testimony of his good moral character, and that he should be solvent and financially sound to support himself. Some States require that the applicant should possess a working knowledge of the national language of the State.
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Some States have imposed definite restrictions on the admission of persons of Asiatic origin or of certain races. Naturalisation may either be complete or partial. If a naturalised citizen stands at par with a natural citizen of the State in the enjoyment of his rights and privileges and there is no discrimination of any kind, naturalisation is complete.
If discrimination is made between a natural citizen and a naturalised citizen in the enjoyment of rights and privileges, it is partial citizenship. For example, the Constitution of the United States of America does not permit a naturalised citizen to become the President of the State. Only natural citizens can occupy that august office.
With the acquisition of naturalization the citizenship of the parent State is lost. When a woman marries an alien, she generally loses the citizenship of her own State and acquires the citizenship of her husband’s State.
A person who enters into the service of another State and takes the oath of his office and allegiance to that State, he loses the citizenship of his original State. The laws of some States prescribe loss of citizenship of persons found guilty of heinous crimes, as treason and desertion from the army.
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The Constitution of India specifically prohibits the acceptance of a title awarded by a foreign government. If any Indian citizen accepts one, he violates the Constitution and forfeits his right to be a citizen of India until he relinquishes the title and reaffirms his allegiance to the country, and the government accepts such reaffirmation. But the common cause of loss of citizenship is expatriation, that is, relinquishment of citizenship.
If a person naturalised in a State decides to again acquire the citizenship of his parent State and regains it, it is called repatriation. Repatriation may be voluntary or forced. If the State compulsorily repatriates a person from the State of his naturalization, it is forced repatriation. If it is of one’s own accord, it is voluntary.