Editing Naturalization (section)

== History ==
The massive increase in population flux due to [[globalization]] and the sharp increase in the numbers of [[refugee]]s following [[World War I]] created many [[stateless person]]s, people who were not citizens of any state. In some rare cases, laws for mass naturalization were passed. As naturalization laws had been designed to cater for the relatively few people who had voluntarily moved from one country to another (expatriates), many [[western democracies]] were not ready to naturalize large numbers of people. This included the massive influx of stateless people which followed massive [[denationalization]]s and the expulsion of [[ethnic minority|ethnic minorities]] from newly created [[nation states]] in the first part of the 20th century.<ref>Cohn, D'Vera (30 September 2015).  [https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/09/30/how-u-s-immigration-laws-and-rules-have-changed-through-history/ How U.S. immigration laws and rules have changed through history]. Retrieved 24 December 2023.</ref><ref>Bolger, Eilleen (2013). [https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/federal/naturalization-process-in-u-s-early-history/ Background history of the United States naturalization process]. Retrieved 24 December 2023.</ref><ref>Roeder, Philip G. ''Where Nation-States Come From: Institutional Change in the Age of Nationalism''. Princeton University Press, 2007. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7t07k. Accessed 24 December 2023.</ref>

Since [[World War II]], the increase in [[Human migration|international migrations]] created a new category of migrants, most of them [[economic migrants]]. For economic, political, humanitarian and pragmatic reasons, many states passed laws allowing a person to acquire their citizenship after birth, such as by marriage to a national – ''[[jus matrimonii]]'' – or by having ancestors who are nationals of that country, in order to reduce the scope of this category. However, in some countries this system still maintains a large part of the immigrant population in an illegal status, albeit with some massive regularizations. Examples include Spain under [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]]'s government, and Italy under [[Silvio Berlusconi]]'s government. Some countries allow naturalization due to [[military service]].<ref name="x686">{{cite journal | title=Fighting for Citizenship: A Look at Military Paths to Citizenship in the United States and France  | journal=38 Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 345 | date= 2021–2022 | volume=38 | page=345 | url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/ajicl38&div=20&id=&page= | access-date=1 March 2025 | last1=Smedley | first1=Jessica }}</ref>