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For the biology usage, see Naturalisation (biology).

Naturalisation or naturalization is the act whereby a person voluntarily and actively acquires a nationality which is not his or her nationality at birth. Naturalisation is most associated with people who have immigrated to a country and resided there as an alien, and who have voluntarily chosen to become a national of that country after meeting specific requirements.

Some countries may have laws to allow a person to acquire their nationality after birth (such as by marriage to a national or by having ancestors who are nationals of that country), but whether these are viewed as being naturalisation or some other form of acquiring nationality will depend on the laws of the countries involved.

In general, basic requirements for naturalization are that the applicant hold a legal status as a full time resident for a minimum period of time, that the applicant take an oath or make a promise of allegiance to that country or the country's monarch, and a promise to obey and uphold that country's laws. Some countries also require that a naturalized national must renounce any other nationalities that he currently holds, but whether this renunciation actually causes loss of the person's original nationalities will again depend on the laws of the countries involved.

Contents 1 Early Examples of Naturalisation 2 Naturalisation in Finland 3 Naturalisation in the United Kingdom 4 Naturalization in the United States

Early Examples of Naturalisation

There had always been a distinction in English law between the subjects of the monarch and aliens: the monarch's subjects owed him allegiance, and included those born in his dominions (natural-born subjects) and those who later gave him their allegiance (naturalised subjects).

Naturalisation in Finland

Finland became independent on December 6, 1917, but the constitution, dating back to Swedish rule, required all Finnish citizens to be of Evangelical Lutheran faith. Both Jews and Muslims started to apply for Finnish citizenship in 1918. Muslims, however, were accepted only after the Constitution of Finland was modified and general freedom of religion was declared by 1919.

Naturalisation in the United Kingdom

Main article: British nationality law

The requirements for naturalisation as a British citizen depend on whether one is married to a British citizen or not.

For those married to a British citizen the applicant must:

• hold indefinite leave to remain in the UK (or an equivalent such as Right of Abode or Irish citizenship)
• have lived legally in the UK for three years
• pass the Life in the UK Test unless exempted. Those aged 65 or over may be able to claim exemption, as are those who attend combined English language and citizenship classes. Proof of passing the test must be supplied with one's application for naturalisation.
• meet specified English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic language competence standards. Those who pass the Life in the UK Test are deemed to meet English language requirements.

For those not married to a British citizen the requirements are

• five years legal residence in the UK
• indefinite leave to remain or equivalent must have been held for 12 months
• the applicant must intend to continue to live in the UK or work overseas for the UK government or a British corporation or association.
• similar language and knowledge of life in the UK standards apply as for those married to British citizens

All applicants for naturalisation must be of "good character". Naturalisation is at the discretion of the Home Secretary but is normally granted if the requirements are met.

Naturalization in the United States

In the United States of America, naturalization is mentioned in the Constitution.

Congress is given the power to prescribe a uniform rule of naturalization, which was administered by state courts. There was some confusion about which courts could naturalize; the final ruling was that it could be done by any "court of record having common-law jurisdiction and a clerk (prothonotary) and seal."

The Constitution also mentions 'natural born citizen'. The first naturalization Act (drafted by Thomas Jefferson) used the phrases 'natural born' and 'native born' interchangeably. To be 'naturalized' therefore means to become as if "natural born" -- i.e. a citizen.

There is an interesting loophole here in that the Constitution does not mandate race-neutral naturalization. Up until 1952, the Naturalization Acts written by Congress still allowed only white persons to become naturalized as citizens (except for two years in the 1870's which the Supreme Court declared to be a mistake).

Naturalization is also mentioned in the Fourteenth Amendment. Before that Amendment, individual states set their own standards for citizenship (there was no national citizenship). The Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof shall be citizens of the United States and of the State in which they reside."

Note also that the Amendment is ambiguous on the issue of singular or plural United States. In the early days the phrase 'United States' was used as a singular or a plural according to the meaning. After the Civil War, it was generally always a singular. The Amendment does not say 'its jurisdiction' or 'their jurisdiction' but 'the jurisdiction thereof'.

The Naturalization Act of 1795 set the initial parameters on naturalization: 'free, White persons' who had been resident for five years or more. The Naturalization Act of 1798, part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, was passed by the Federalists and extended the residency requirement from five to fourteen years. It specifically targeted Irish and French immigrants who were involved in anti-Federalist politics. It was repealed in 1802.

An 1862 law allowed honorably discharged Army veterans of any war to petition for naturalization, without having filed a declaration of intent, after only one year of residence in the United States. An 1894 law extended the same privilege to honorably discharged 5-year veterans of the Navy or Marine Corps. Over 192,000 aliens were naturalized between May 9, 1918, and June 30, 1919, under an act of May 9, 1918. Laws enacted in 1919, 1926, 1940, and 1952 continued preferential treatment provisions for veterans. [Schulze, Lorine McGinnis (2003) http://www.naturalizationrecords.com/usa/ Retrieved April 23, 2005]

Passage of the Fourteenth Amendment meant that, in theory, all persons born in the U.S. are citizens regardless of race. However it was not applied to Asians at the time. The enabling legislation for the naturalization aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment was the 1870 Page Act, which allowed naturalization of 'aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent,' but is silent about other races.

The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese workers and specifically barred them from naturalization. The Immigration Act of 1917, (Barred Zone Act) extended those restrictions to almost all Asians.

The 1922 Cable Act specified that women marrying aliens ineligible for naturalization lose their US citizenship. At the time, all Asians were ineligible for naturalization. The Immigration Act of 1924 barred entry of all those ineligible for naturalization, which again meant non-Filipino Asians.

Following the Spanish American War in 1898, Philippine residents were classified as US nationals. But the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act, or Philippine Independence Act, reclassified Filipinos as aliens, and set a quota of 50 immigrants per year, and otherwise applying the Immigration Act of 1924 to them.

Asians were first permitted naturalization by the 1943 Magnuson Act, which repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. India and the Philippines were allowed 100 annual immigrants under the 1946 Filipino Naturalization Act. The War Brides Act of 1945 permitted soldiers to bring back their foreign wives.

The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (better known as the McCarran-Walter Act), lifted racial restrictions, but kept the quotas in place. The Immigration Act of 1965 finally allowed Asians and all persons from all nations be given equal access to immigration and naturalization.

Illegal immigration became a major issue in the US at the end of the 20th Century. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, while tightening border controls, also provided the opportunity of naturalization for illegal aliens who had been in the country for at least four years.

The Child Citizenship Act of 2001 streamlined the naturalization process for children adopted internationally. A child under age 18 who is adopted by at least one U.S. citizen parent, and is in the custody of the citizen parent(s), is now automatically naturalized once admitted to the United States as an immigrant.

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