Dictionary Definition
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- a UK /ɪnˈhæ.bɪ.tənt/, /In"h
Extensive Definition
- This article deals with personal residence in a given place. For other uses, see Residency (disambiguation) and Resident.
Residency is the act of
establishing or maintaining a residence in a given
place.
United States of America
It is important in terms of
politics, as candidates must maintain residency within the district
in which they intend to run. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, and
sometimes by the political
office for which a person runs. The cutoff may be as little as
a month or as much as several years. Once elected, the
office-holder must remain resident in the appropriate district, or
may usually be forced to resign.
As a general principle,
residency for federal politicians is defined as the intent to
return to the particular district or state they represent following
their term in office. The purchase or occupancy of a home in the DC
metro area, for example, for proximity to the Capitol
and the Congressional
offices, does not change an Iowa Congressman's
legal residency in his state.
The
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides specific
protections to military service members who are domiciled outside
their home states.
Voting by the general public
(the electorate) is also defined by residency, with most people
being prohibited from doing so except at the precinct for their
primary
residence. There are sometimes exceptions for this, such as so
that expatriates can
vote in the country where they maintain their original
citizenship.
It is also important in terms
of other law, such as requirements that vehicles and other things
which must be licensed in the place which the owner resides. There
is a grace period
normally around 30 days for persons moving into the
area.
In addition to such responsibilities,
certain benefits also come from residency. Discounts on tuition
usually are allowed for students who are resident within the state
or province (or country) for a year or more, if it is a public
university or the like. Other forms of public assistance such
as welfare
may also have a waiting
period, to prevent abuse.
Residency in any given
U.S.
state is recognized by the U.S.
Constitution as "citizenship" of that state, a somewhat unusual
arrangement known as "dual
citizenship" (though not in the original multi-national
context).
Malta
In Malta, residency has been interpreted to include not only the physical presence in the country, but includes and allows periodic absence from the country. A person who is temporarily absent from Malta because of work, study, illness or mission, must not and cannot be considered as not resident in Malta. A person who goes abroad to study or for work purposes is still 'directly and continuously concerned' with the political activity of the country of residence and therefore has the right to vote.Malaysia
The Malaysia My Second Home program (commonly abbreviated "MM2H") is an international residency scheme enacted by the Government of Malaysia to allow foreigners to live in the country on a long-stay visa of up to 10 years. To qualify for the program, applicants must meet certain financial and medical criteria. Successful applicants are then entitled to enter and leave the country on a largely unrestricted basis, and also benefit from other incentives aimed at making their stay in Malaysia more convenient. Certain restrictions may apply.See also
inhabitant in Japanese:
居住
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
aborigine, addressee,
artist-in-residence, autochthon, citizen, citizenry, commonwealth, community, constituency, cultural
community, denizen,
dweller, dwellers, folk, general public, habitancy, habitant, house detective,
incumbent, indigene, inhabitants, inhabiter, inmate, inpatient, intern, linguistic community,
live-in maid, liver, locum
tenens, nation, native, occupant, occupier, people, people at large, populace, population, public, residencer, resident, resident physician,
residentiary,
resider, society, sojourner, speech community,
tenant, whole
people