United States Virgin Islander citizenship and nationality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States Virgin Islands are a group of around 90 islands, islets, and cays in the Caribbean region in which inhabitants were claimed by Spain in 1493.[1][2] No permanent settlements occurred in the Spanish period and the islands were colonized by Denmark in 1671.[2][3] The inhabitants remained Danish nationals until 1917. From that date, islanders have derived their nationality from the United States.[4][5] Nationality is the legal means in which inhabitants acquire formal membership in a nation without regard to its governance type.[6] In addition to being United States' nationals, Virgin Islanders are both citizens of the United States and [local] citizens of the Virgin Islands.[7] Citizenship is the relationship between the government and the governed, the rights and obligations that each owes the other, once one has become a member of a nation.[8]