Major characteristics of citizenship today include

Citizenship of a country or sovereign state is defined as legal membership of the said country; this status varies from country to country and can be obtained through birth, marriage as well as naturalization. Citizenship can usually be obtained by parentage, the location of birth and application for citizenship. Once a citizen of a country you then are legally bound to its laws and subject to punishment if you break them; also citizenship in a broader sense is acceptance of cultural norms within a certain country.