Cc
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Citizenship
(citizen, citizens)
Citizenship is both a practice and a status. As a practice, citizenship describes the relationship between individuals and the state in which they are linked together by sets of rights and responsibilities. Citizenship is also more narrowly understood as status in terms of individual membership of a nation-state's political community.
Having the status of Australian citizenship provides individuals with the capacity to vote in elections, stand for parliament, work in the public service, serve in the armed forces and travel overseas on an Australian passport. Others who live and work in Australia but have not applied to become citizens are generally not able to do these things. It is possible to apply to the Commonwealth government to become an Australian citizen after having lived in Australia continuously for two years as a permanent resident.
In Australia it is possible to be a dual citizen. For example, individuals can hold both Australian citizenship and the citizenship of the country they were born in, if that original country permits it. Australians can also retain their Australian citizenship even if they live in another country, such as in the United Kingdom, and receive citizenship status there.
Citizenship is often understood as consisting of a bundle of civil, political and social rights that governments are expected to guarantee. Civil and political rights together constitute the basics of political citizenship.
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- Keywords in Australian Politics , pp. 20 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
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