SCG Civics

The Sol Central Government has many tiers of civic status that an individual can possess, intertwined with many levels of local, planetary, and federal citizenship. This page will help outline these categories as they are described in law. While this page covers federal civic status – which guarantees many of the fundamental rights and protections of sapients within the SCG – many people living within Sol self-identify with their planet or colony of residence, whose civic infrastructures can vary wildly within the broader framework of the SCG.

Citizens

Eligibility

The primary sources of Solar citizenship are:

• By birth:
  • Humans born within SCG space are automatically SCG citizens. For the purposes of determining citizenship, SCG space includes:
    • Any colony of the SCG, plus the space within a certain distance of said colony determined by colony charter.
    • Any station, vessel, or gateway licensed under an SCG registration.
  • Children of SCG citizens are automatically granted SCG citizenship.
    • Artificially-born humans (e.g. “vat-borns”) are considered the legal child of the person(s) who commissioned their creation and are eligible for citizenship accordingly.
• By naturalization:
  • Non-citizens living within the SCG are eligible to apply for citizenship so long as they meet the following criteria:
    • Are human.
    • Have been a permanent resident for at least 5 years (see below).
    • Have no felony convictions within the SCG.

Additionally, all applicants are subject to screening and review by the Bureau of Citizenship. This is often a long, drawn-out process, with additional scrutiny given to emigrants from “high-risk” areas (namely, emigrants from the GCC and Northern Gaia).

Under the current SCG Charter, only humans are eligible for citizenship. This is a highly controversial issue and one currently being debated in the Solar Assembly.

Rights

Citizens are afforded all rights and privileges of the SCG under the law. Citizenship is a prerequisite for service within many of the SCG's state services, including the Fleet and the Expeditionary Corps, as well as the Army (which restricts membership to natural-born citizens only). Some exceptions apply in the case of positronics (see below). Additionally, only citizens may vote in Solar elections or be elected to offices of the SCG.

Permanent Residents

Eligibility

Permanent residency is a legal status granted to individuals who are non-citizens but are allowed to live permanently within the SCG. Barring special cases, permanent residency is usually the first step towards becoming a naturalized citizen; it also covers rights and status for those who live within the SCG but are unwilling or unable to pursue full SCG citizenship.

To obtain permanent residency, a person must apply for a Permanent Residency Card with the Bureau of Citizenship. The following groups may apply for permanent residency:

• Spouses and immediate relatives (parent, child, sibling) of current SCG citizens and permanent residents.
• Workers employed within the SCG.
• Asylum seekers.
• Free positronics created within the SCG or falling into any of the previous categories.
• Any persons without citizenship or permanent resident status who do not otherwise fall into one of the previous categories, provided they arrived in the SCG before age 14.

As with citizenship applications, applications for permanent residency are subject to stringent screening and review by the Bureau of Citizenship. Only humans and positronics are currently eligible for permanent residency.

Rights

Residents are afforded almost all the same rights as citizens with the exception of the ability participate in government or state service.

Visitors

Visitors are persons who are temporarily in the SCG, usually under a visa. 

The SCG issues a variety of both short-term and long-term visas, including for work, education, leisure, and asylum, as well as immigration visas for those intending to seek permanent residence later on. Visas are usually obtained at a local SCG consulate in the area a visitor is traveling from or through a direct application with the Ambassadorial Service if a consulate is unavailable. Certain corporations retain the right to issue visas directly, though corporate visas are usually subject to additional restrictions and only apply under their jurisdiction.

All sapient species are eligible to apply for visas within the SCG, though under some circumstances, the SCG does not require a visa for visitation. For example, traveling through SCG space does not usually require a visa. Additionally, certain non-SCG groups (such as members of affiliated colonies) do not require a visa to visit neighboring SCG systems.

Visitors are afforded the rights that apply to them under their visa, as well as the standard legal rights afforded to sapients in SCG space.

Other Citizenship Categories

Planetary Citizenship

In addition to SCG citizenship, individual SCG member states also issue planetary citizenship. Eligibility for and rights guarenteed by planetary citizen vary from member state to member state (within the broader legal framework of the SCG). Planetary citizens typically hold both their planetary citizenship and SCG citizenship; however, it is possible to hold one without the other (as is sometimes the case of citiznes of newly-integrated colonies).

Corporate Citizenship

Cetain corporations within the SCG (most notably the "Big Five") hold the right to issue their employees corporate citizenship, which only applies within corporate installations. This citizenship is entirely separate from SCG citizenship, and is issued at the discretion of the sponsor corporation. This means that a visitor to Solar space can hold corporate citizenship.

Special Cases

Positronics

While not citizens, positronics are able to join the uniformed services of the SCG. The specifics of positronic service vary by organization – for instance, the Expeditionary Corps allows both second and third generation positronics to serve, while the Fleet only allows third generation positronics. Additionally, free positronics are eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Gaia

While Gaia is not a member state of the SCG and Gaians do not receive SCG citizenship, residents of Southern Gaia have been allowed to join the SCG's uniformed services (provided they have never resided in Northern Gaia post-conflict) since the advent of SCG occupation. The military administration in Southern Gaia encourages this, citing state service as a way to deepen Solar-Gaian ties and further entrench the SCG's role on the planet.

This policy is somewhat controversial, with its opponents citing the SCG's longstanding legal precedents; however, the practical realities on the ground coupled with the political influence of Brigadier General Montgomery as military governor of the Gaian Administrative Area have often overshadowed these complaints.

Copernicus and the Frontier Alliance

The SCG does not recognize the secession of Copernicus and inhabitants of Iolaus and Brahe retain their SCG civic status. In practice this primarily affects refugees and expatriates, as the SCG considers the Frontier Alliance a terrorist organization and Copernicus is under active blockade. Inhabitants of the Frontier Alliance colonies of Kaze, Umiri, and Sunset are not considered Solar citizens.

New Colony Citizens/Residents

While no major new colonies have joined the SCG in some time, if one were to do so, all members of the colony younger than 14 would automatically be granted SCG citizenship while all other members of the colony would become residents with extra privileges. Specifically, residents would retain the ability to take part in the government of that colony up to the system level, represent the colony if elected to the Solar Assembly or Senate, and serve within the Planet's PDF and SDF. These residents would still be unable to serve within the SCG's uniformed services or hold appointments within the federal government.

Tables of Examples

Eligibility

	Citizenship	Residency	Visitation
Human (SCG Origin)	✓ (automatic)	N/A	N/A
Human (Non-SCG Origin)	✓ (via naturalization)	✓	✓
IPC (2nd Generation)	❌	✓ (if free)	✓
IPC (3rd Generation)	❌	❌	✓
Other Non-Human	❌	❌	✓

Eligibility

	SCG Fleet	SCG Army	EC	SFP	Federal Government
Human (SCG Citizen)	✓	✓ (natural-born only)	✓	✓	✓
Human (SCG Resident)	❌	❌	❌	❌ (Agent) ✓ (Tracker)	❌
Human (SCG Visitor)	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Human (Southern Gaia)	✓	✓	✓	✓
IPC (2nd Generation)	❌	❌	✓	❌
IPC (3rd Generation)	✓	✓	✓	❌
Other Non-Human	❌	❌	✓ (temporarily only, via Exchange Program)	❌	❌

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