Difference between Citizenship and Nationality

Citizenship, on the other hand, is associated with the country whose government acknowledges the person as a resident that is protect by rights and liberties as provided by that government. Basically, the country with which the person can associated as a citizen of.

The problem with differentiating between these two contexts comes from the fact that many people think that the two are the same. In fact, in many instances even countries and government departments take the implication that the two are interchangeable. However, that is not the case. The two are very different and individual concepts, that tend to overlap.

For example, a person might consider their nationality to be Native American, perhaps Cherokee. However, they would still be a citizen of the United States of America. Similarly, a person with a Tibetan nationality is still legally a citizen of China.

Another difference is when a person moves from one country to another. Hence, while their nationality will be associated with their birth country, they may eventually become citizens of their new country. For example, an Indian national may emigrate to the United States of America and eventually become a US citizen.  

Comparison between Citizenship and Nationality:

Reference: Oxford Dictionaries (Citizenship and Nationality), Wikipedia (Citizenship and Nationality), EUDO Image Courtesy: brent.gov.uk, glossophilia.org

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