Like in the real world, every individual born into an alliance holds citizenship within that alliance. If you are born on a station or world controlled by the League, you are almost guaranteed to also be a League citizen, for example.
There are several reasons why someone might want to live or become a part of another nation. Asylum, work reasons, education reasons, family, simply wanting to join the culture, etc. All of these have different legal frameworks, protections, and requirements.
The vast majority of these methods are not elegible for a civilian pilot that possesses an active licence.
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PATHS TO CITIZENSHIP
1) Citizenship via Naturalisation
Naturalisation refers to having lived within an alliance for long enough that you are considered to have become a part of it.
To apply for citizenship by naturalisation you must:
* be 18 years old or over
* be of good character - no criminal record or history of bad faith actions
* plan to remain and live in the alliance
* have lived in the target alliance for over 5 years
* have spent less than a combined total of 1 year outside the planet you have been residing on in that 5 year period
* have already had 'indefinite leave to remain', also known as 'permanent residency' for at least 1 year prior to the 5 year period
* not have broken any interalliance laws
As can be seen, naturalisation takes at LEAST 6 years to complete, so it is not a fast process. Civilian pilots cannot naturalise while holding an active civilian pilot licence, since this invalidates several requirements.
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2) Citizenship via Marriage or Civil Partnership
If you have married a citizen of the alliance you wish to become a citizen of, there is also a method to becoming a citizen yourself.
Being married to a member of an alliance does automatically give minor temporary leave to enter a nation, but does not automatically grant citizenship or right of abode.
To be elegible to gain citizenship this way, you must:
* be 18 years old or over
* be of sound mind, legally able to make informed decisions by yourself
* be of good character - no criminal record or history of bad faith actions
* have passed the Knowledge of [Alliance] exam
* already possess 'indefinite leave to remain'
* have lived in the target alliance for over 3 years
* have spent less than a combined total of 1 year outside the planet you have been residing on in that 3 year period
* not broken any interalliance laws
* have lived with you partner for more than 66% of that 3 year period
This is a 'simpler' method than naturalisation, but is also a much rarer situation. Each alliance has a specific department of their version of the Home Office/Department of State dedicated to ensuring there are no 'marriages of convenience' in order to allow individuals to gain citizenship. Civilian pilots cannot gain citizenship through marriage or civil partnerships while an active pilot as not only does the civilian pilot contract invalidate several requirements, it also disallows civilian pilots from marriage itself for the duration of their contract.
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3) Permanent Residency / Indefinite Leave To Remain
This option does not grant citizenship, rather it offers a set of legal protections and permissions for the individual. A person with indefinite leave to remain has the legal right to live and work in the specified alliance without a time limit.
To be elegible to gain PR/ILR (permanent residency/indefinite leave to remain) you must:
* have already lived in the alliance legally for at least 10 years (continuous residence)
* have kept to any terms of any previous contract or agreement giving you right to remain
* pass the Knowledge of [Alliance] exam
* have spent less than a combined total of 1 year outside the planet you have been residing on
* have spent less than 3 months at a time off-planet
* have no criminal record
Granting of ILR/PR gives the individual the right to permanently live in the target alliance and some rights and protections, but does not automatically grant protections given specifically to full citizens. Civilian pilots in possession of an active licence are not elegible to gain PR/ILR as the pilot contract invalidates several requirements.
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4) Continuous Residence / Temporary Leave to Remain
This is one of the most basic ways to gain permission to reside in a specific alliance, and is the first step of gaining PR/ILR.
To be elegible to gain CR/TLR (continuous resident/temporary leave to remain) you must:
* not be a citizen of an alliance at war with the one in which you are requesting CR/TLR
* register with alliance law enforcement
* have no criminal record
* have a valid work permit or interalliance student status
* have Leave to Enter rights for the alliance in question.
This will grant a limited 2 year right to remain and live in the alliance, with the option to request to renew at the end of that time (which is not necessarily automatically approved). Civilian pilots with an active licence are not elegible for CR/TLR as they do not have full Leave to Enter rights with any alliance.
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5a) Work Permit
A work permit grants permission for an individual with Leave to Enter rights the legal permission to find work within the alliance in question.
To be elegible for a work permit, you must:
* have Leave to Enter rights for the alliance in question
* have a job offer in the alliance in question
* have a skillset that is covered by interalliance Work Permit regulations
* have no criminal record
This will grant a limited right to remain and live in the alliance, with a duration and specific rights depending on multiple factors such as job type and contract length. Civilian pilots possess a limited form of work permit as part of their pilot contract, which is why they are legally able to perform jobs such as mail delivery or courierwork - as well as sell salvage - in locations not part of their home alliance.
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5b) Interalliance Student Status
Some individuals want to learn from specific educational institutes that may not be in their home alliance. This is possible, but often expensive.
To be elegible for interalliance student status, you must:
* be free of any immigration restrictions
* have been offered a place on a specific course or series of courses by a specific higher education institute
* have access to enough credits to support yourself for the duration of the course without needing to work
* have made arrangements for travel and stay within the alliance for the duration of the course
* can prove that you will be leaving the alliance once the course is complete
* if under 18, have permission from a parent or guardian
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6a) Asylum / Refugee Status
Refugees are individuals who have fled their home due to disaster, discrimination, or something else that would otherwise have caused them extreme harm.
To be a refugee most (but not necessarily all) of the following must be true:
* you have little or no access to resources such as credits
* you have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, membership of a particular social group, holding of a specific political opinion
* does not have a nationality
* is unable (or unwilling) to return to their alliance of origin as a result of one of the above
* has no other allied alliance or entity upon which to request asylum or assistance
* has not committed a crime against peace
* has not committed a war crime
* has not committed a crime against humanity
* has not committed a crime against the Jinu
* is not guilty of acts contrary to the alliance in which they are claiming refugee status
* is not guilty of acts contrary to interalliance law
* is not guilty of acts contrary to the purpose of the Coalition of Humans and Jinu
* is not guilty of acts contrary to the purpose of the Accord of Free Worlds
If refugee status has been granted to an individual, they will have automatic (temporary) rights as if they held PR/ILR, though the alliance government will help them set up things like a place to reside, potential work, assistance in dealing with the reason for their refugee status, etc. The goal of refugee status is to have the refugee stop being a refugee as quickly as possible, and is designed to be a temporary situation. Once refugee status is no longer appropriate, the individual will either have the option of PR/ILR, naturalisation, assistance in returning to their original home if possible, or a new home if not.
A civilian pilot may request asylum or refugee status, but by doing so they will almost always have to forfeit their licence.
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6b) Temporary Asylum / Displacement
A limited form of refugee status, temporary asylum is usually only given to individuals on a highly limited basis when they are unable (or unwilling) to return to their alliance of origin due to war, natural disasters, or similar to the point where their alliance is unable to assist them. The length of temporary asylum is to the point where their alliance of origin is able to assist them, such as when a war is over, or the damage caused by the disaster has been dealt with, etc.
