Understanding the Principles of Citizenship and Citizenship Status

The principle of citizenship – Every country has its own citizenship principle and Indonesia is no exception. For some Indonesians, they may only know the principles of citizenship on the ius sanguinis and ius soli principles .

However, Indonesia actually recognizes four principles of citizenship as a reference for determining a person’s citizenship status, namely the principle of ius sanguinis , ius soli principle , principle of single citizenship, and principle of limited dual citizenship.

In general, the meaning of citizenship is the participation of a person as a member by showing the relationship or bond between the state and its citizens. While citizens are residents of a country or nation based on place of birth, ancestry and others.

Meanwhile, the principle of citizenship can also be understood as a basis for thinking in determining whether or not someone belongs as a citizen of a particular country.

In order to know the principle of citizenship, you can see the full explanation in this article, OK, Matobers!

Definition of Citizenship and Citizenship Principles

The state is an abstract entity and what appears is only the elements of the state, such as population, government and territory. Residents are all people who are domiciled in a country, both indigenous people and immigrants (foreign nationals) who are on vacation or working and temporarily living in that country.

Citizens are part of a population. Citizens have a relationship with their country and have rights and obligations that are reciprocal in nature.

Meanwhile, citizenship has properties that can show the relationship or bond between the state and its citizens. According to the Citizenship Law of the Republic of Indonesia which reads, ” Citizenship is everything related to the state. “So, from the definition of citizenship, citizenship can be divided into two, as follows.

  • Citizenship in a juridical sense is citizenship which is marked by the existence of a legal bond between people and the state.
  • Citizenship in the sociological sense is citizenship which is not only marked by legal ties, but is marked by emotional ties such as bonds of fate, feelings, historical bonds, hereditary ties and homeland ties. The word bond was born as an appreciation of the citizens of the country concerned.

In any discourse, the state must be positioned on an equal footing with its citizens. As long as the state is above its citizens and society, then the relationship between the two will not be able to run harmoniously.

Normatively, the relationship between citizens and the state must always adhere to the rights and obligations attached to both. That way, democratic and fair communication will be created and in accordance with what has been implied by the constitution.

If one of them acts without adhering to the guidelines and the constitution as a normative basis and standard, then the relationship will be easily torn or destroyed.

When the relationship is destroyed, the party that loses is the citizen. With the power possessed by the state or government, it can carry out repressive and hegemonic ways to control citizens, so that the legitimacy of citizens always flows to the state.

In fact, the state’s decision to dominate its citizens cannot be justified and vice versa, citizens must not behave anarchically to bring down the state.

Because the state and citizens have a relationship or bond with each other, it is important to determine one’s citizenship status. Therefore, the principle of citizenship is present and necessary.

The principle of citizenship is the legal basis for citizenship for residents or citizens residing in a country. People who already have citizenship will not fall under the power or authority of another country.

In addition, other countries do not have the right to impose the rule of law on people who are not citizens of their country. The principle of citizenship is necessary and important so that a person gets legal protection from the state while at the same time being able to receive his rights and obligations as a citizen.

Provisions regarding citizenship status are regulated in the laws and regulations of a country. Every country is free to determine the principle of its citizenship which will be included in the laws and regulations in force in the country.

This is because each country has cultural values, traditions and history that differ from one another. However, in general there are two principles applied by a country, namely, ius sanguinis and ius soli. In Indonesia itself, the principle of citizenship is regulated in Law No. 12 of 2006 and is known by two guidelines, namely 1) the principle of general citizenship and 2) the principle of special citizenship.

Citizenship Principles in Indonesia

As has been explained, that every country has its own citizenship principles and the best known ones are ius soli and ius sanguinis. In Indonesia, the principle of citizenship has been clearly regulated in Law No. 12 of 2006 and includes two guidelines, namely the principle of general and special citizenship which has four principles in it. The following is an explanation of the principle of citizenship in Indonesia based on Law No. 12 of 2006.

1. Principles of General Citizenship

The general citizenship principle consists of four principles, namely ius soli, ius sanguinis, single citizenship principle and limited dual citizenship principle. Here’s an explanation.

Principle of Birth ( Ius Soli )

The principle of ius soli or law of the soil is the principle that determines a person’s citizenship based on his place of birth. The ius soli principle is more in line with today’s global conditions, when a person’s citizenship and nationality are not determined by the basis of religion, race, and ethnicity.

The ius soli principle allows for the creation of a citizenship law that is more open and multicultural. Some countries that use the ius soli principle include Argentina, America, Peru, Brazil and Mexico.

Australia actually also uses the ius soli principle , but by applying several conditions. A child born on Australian territory will not automatically acquire Australian citizenship, unless one of the parents is an Australian citizen.

However, if the child is settled and lives in Australia until the age of 10, the child will automatically acquire Australian citizenship, regardless of the citizenship status of both parents.

The Principle of Heredity ( us Sanguinis )

The principle of sanguinis or the law of the blood is a principle that determines a person’s nationality according to his ancestry or blood and not based on where he was born.

Countries that adhere to the sanguinis principle will recognize a person’s citizenship if one of the child’s parents has citizenship status from that country. Sanguinis principle is adhered to by most countries in Asia and Europe.

Principle of Single Citizenship

The principle of single citizenship is the principle that determines one nationality for each person. According to this one principle, a person is not allowed to have more than one nationality.

Limited Dual Citizenship Principle

This fourth principle is the principle which determines the status of citizenship for children in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the law. When the child reaches the age of 18, the child must determine one of his nationalities.

 

 

2. The Principle of Special Citizenship

In addition to the four principles in the general citizenship principles, there are several specific principles which form the basis for the preparation of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia. According to Jazim Hamidi and Mustafa Lutfi, the principles of special citizenship are as follows.

The Principle of Equality in Law and Government

The principle of equality in law and government is a principle that determines that every Indonesian citizen will receive equal treatment in law and government.

Substantive Truth Principle

The principle of substantive truth is the principle which explains that the procedure for a person’s citizenship is not only administrative in nature, but also accompanied by the substance and requirements of the application for which the truth can be accounted for.

Principle of Non-Discrimination

The principle of non-discrimination is the principle that does not discriminate in treatment in all matters relating to citizens on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender and class.

The Principle of Recognition and Respect for Human Rights

The principle of recognition and respect for human rights is a principle which in all matters relating to citizens must be able to guarantee, protect and glorify human rights in general and the rights of citizens in particular.

The Principle of Openness

The principle of openness is a principle that determines that in all matters relating to relations with citizens, it must be done openly.

Principles of Publicity

The principle of publicity is the principle which determines that a person who gains or loses citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia will be announced or published so that the public or the general public can find out about the news.

Citizenship Status

Status or identity of citizenship is a person’s membership position as a citizen to live or participate in a country, which is recognized by the laws and regulations that apply in that country.

A person’s citizenship status is very important, because this status indicates a legal relationship between an individual and a country. Citizenship status is the legal basis for the implementation of civil rights and obligations as citizens. So, citizenship identity will have implications for the rights and obligations as citizens regulated in citizenship law.

Problems in determining a person’s citizenship status can occur due to several possibilities. For one thing, this is because some countries adhere to the ius soli principle, while other countries adhere to the ius sanguinis principle.

Several citizenship statuses that can occur due to this problem include 1) apatride, 2) bipatride and 3) multipatride. The following is an explanation of the citizenship status.

1. Apartride

Apatride citizenship status is the citizenship status of a person who does not have citizenship status at all. By de jure , a person who is stateless is a person who is legally not considered a citizen by any state which is supposed to have an obligation to protect him.

Meanwhile, a person who is de facto stateless is someone who is outside their country of origin and is unable or for a valid reason, is unwilling to take advantage of the protection offered by the state.

This can happen, as a result of persecution that usually occurs to refugees or because of bad diplomatic relations that occur between the country of origin and the country occupied by the person.

The causes of apatride in different parts of the world can vary. However, most are due to cases of discrimination due to ethnic, racial, religious or gender factors. Cases like this usually occur in minority groups for generations.

Although the status of apatride is condemned by international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) it also proclaims the right to citizenship. The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) notes that there are more than half a million people with apatride status on this continent and more than 12 million people worldwide with apatride status .

2. Bipatride

Bipatride is someone who has dual citizenship status. International law states that as a form of sovereignty of each country, each country has the right to determine its citizens in accordance with the laws and regulations that apply to that country.

At first, dual citizenship was not considered a big problem in the international world. However, several decades ago, international agreement was made that dual citizenship should be avoided.

This is because dual citizenship is feared to be a potential threat that will lead to betrayal, espionage and other subversive activities.

However, this policy against bipatride is disappearing and some countries are starting to tolerate it. Several European countries, such as Finland, Sweden, Italy, Portugal and France no longer require their citizens who have been naturalized in other countries to relinquish their old citizenship status.

Changes in policies and attitudes towards dual citizenship status are based on international law and then the European Convention on Nationality which was signed by most European countries which does not contain restrictions on dual citizenship status as an oddity that needs to be abolished.

3. Multipatride

Multipatride citizenship status is a status for someone who has more than two nationalities. This multipatride case can occur, if there is a man with nationality A then marries a woman with nationality B, then lives and gives birth to a child in country C.

If countries A and B adhere to the ius sanguinis principle, while country C adheres to the ius soli principle, then the child will have multipatride. The existence of multipatride was once rejected, but now it has been widely accepted by democratic countries.

Multipatride cases can occur, because many immigrants come to a country and settle there. In addition, multipatride is also caused by the prohibition of double taxation, namely taxes in the country of origin and place of residence, the loss of compulsory military service, and gender equality in determining citizenship.

It was also explained above that there is the term naturalization or citizenship. Naturalization in question is giving or acquiring citizenship and nationality to someone who is not a citizen of that country when born.

In general, the basic requirement for naturalization is for the applicant to hold legal status as a resident for a certain minimum period of time according to nationality laws in force at the time.

In addition, the applicant also needs to promise to comply with and enforce the laws of the country, which sometimes requires an oath or pledge of allegiance. Some other countries also require naturalized citizens to renounce any other nationalities they previously held.

Traditionally, naturalization is based on ius soli or ius sanguinis . Although at this time it is usually a mixture of these two principles. There is also the opposite term for naturalization, namely denaturalization, which means to revoke one of its citizens or one’s citizenship.

Such is the explanation regarding the principle of citizenship and citizenship status. If Matobers wants to explore material related to citizenship principles, then Matobers can read the information in the PPKn book for senior high schools.