Passports, Citizenship and Identity for an Expat, The Legal Nuts and Bolts

An expat is usually an individual who travels to another country to reside for work or another reason (i.e. retirement, extended holiday, or to reside with a spouse/partner). Depending on where they reside, they may become a permanent resident and eventually a citizen of their new found home. However, there are many, who for legal reasons, or otherwise, cannot take up citizenship or legal status in their new home, even when they may live there more or less permanently. For legal reasons, such people develop complex social and national (or “international”) identities. Below, we explore what it means to be an “expat,” particularly for long term expats.

What is a Passport?

A passport is the primary identity document carried by an expat, which allows him/her to obtain status in their new country, or in any country which they travel to. They will usually be granted a visa, attached to their passport, which will establish their “legal status.” A Passport is essentially a travel document which allows an individual to “pass” through a “port” of entry, whether by air, sea or road. It is essentially a travel and identity document.

However, there are many businesses which make a living out of helping individuals obtain various “passports” from different countries. Many migrants to Canada, Australia and other countries move simply to attempt to obtain a Western “Passport” and then return elsewhere for economic opportunities. There are also a myriad of second citizenship programs in various regions, such as the Caribbean, which allow individuals to legally “purchase” passports. Due to treaties and international agreements negotiated by various countries, certain passports can offer more travel benefits than others it appears, and for these benefits, some individuals are willing to sacrifice or pay a premium.

What is Citizenship?

If a passport establishes and verifies the identity of an individual for a government, then the basis of the passport issuance is “citizenship” in the case of most countries. A citizen or national of a country, is someone who has entered into a “social contract” with the institutions and people of that nation. This is usually formalized through oath swearing and a citizenship ceremony for new citizens, or by birth for those whose parents or families already possess citizenship. Essentially, citizenship is a “legal fiction,” whereby the individual who possesses citizenship is assumed to have a certain “special relationship” with the land and government. This relationship creates legal rights for the citizen along with the government’s ability to establish the identity of the “citizen” through official documents such as passports.

How does Citizenship and Nationality affect identity?

When an expat moves to a new country, all their rights-to work, live, travel, eat and even breathe-in their new country, flow from their citizenship and identity as established in their “home country.” Therefore, a British person who lives in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, or elsewhere in the GCC, maintains their British Citizenship and even depends on it for survival. If they have a legal problem, they will depend on their embassy and diplomatic mission for assistance. If they need their identity verified or passport renewed, they will depend on the government which issued their passport. In the same way, an individual from Pakistan,India, Jordan, Kenya or any other country, who travels to Australia, Canada, the US or elsewhere, and obtains citizenship, while foregoing their original passport, depends on their new found citizenship for their travel, work, essential status (i.e. permission to live) and survival in their new country of residence.

Therefore, expats develop a very unique loyalty and bond with their “passport” country, even when they may have not lived there for very long. This is because they depend on the legal identity of their “home country” for their legal existence and life “abroad”.

Therefore, without their citizenship, expats would not only have an existential crisis, but a host of legal problems as well!

What is the Bottom line?

What expats and others should understand about passports and citizenship is that these concepts are essentially legal fictions which make it easier for governments to verify the identities of its subjects and regulate their movement. Changing citizenship or obtaining new citizenship can bring with it a host of opportunities, as well as obligations, such as taxes, which must be considered seriously before any decision is taken. The new citizenship will become an essential part of the individuals identity, and bring restrictions as well as rights.

In addition, all people should remember that such concepts are essentially a (legal) fiction. Abstract concepts such as “nationalism” and “patriotism” are built on the basis of this “fiction,” however, it does not change the fact that citizenship and identity are in reality, intangible and quite fluid concepts (in a sense undefinable). Having this understanding can help individuals keep things in perspective when making decisions which impact their legal status, citizenship and legal identity, wherever they are.