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In depth
Nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a state, conferring rights and obligations. In most contexts it is synonymous with citizenship, though some countries distinguish the two.
The UK historically distinguished 'British citizen' (full citizenship) from 'British subject' (nationality without full rights) and 'British Overseas citizen' (nationality with limited rights). The 1948 British Nationality Act and its 1981 successor codified these distinctions.
International law (notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 15) recognizes the right to a nationality and prohibits arbitrary deprivation of nationality.
Related terms
A citizen is a person who, by birth, descent, or naturalization, owes allegiance to a state and is entitled to its protection and rights.
A subject is a person who owes allegiance to a sovereign (historically a monarch); the term persists in some Commonwealth countries as 'British subject'.
Citizenship by descent (CBD) is the legal right to acquire a country's citizenship through one's ancestors — typically a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent — without being born in that country, based on the principle of jus sanguinis.
Jus sanguinis (Latin for 'right of blood') is the principle that grants citizenship based on the citizenship of one's parents or ancestors, regardless of where one is born.
Jus soli (Latin for 'right of the soil') grants citizenship based on being born in the territory of the state, regardless of the parents' citizenship.
Dual citizenship (also called multiple citizenship) is the status of being a citizen of two or more countries simultaneously, with the rights and obligations of each.