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For forced migrants who lack unqualified state protection, citizenship acquisition serves as the only secure way to graduate from legally precarious conditions. However, despite the seemingly obvious upside, the decision to naturalise is not necessarily automatic and for those who do choose to move forward, the process is rarely straightforward. Based on 30 interviews with Syrian forced migrants in Berlin, we address why some applicants who are eligible to naturalise choose not to apply and why eligibility 'on paper' does not necessarily translate to ability to naturalise 'in practice'. By combining literature on migrants' experiences with street-level bureaucracy and individual-level determinants of naturalisation, the primary objective of this article is to advance our understanding of how citizenship and non-citizenship decisions are made. In order to do so, we build upon the two-step intention-ability framework and in particular introduce 'bureaucratic trajectory' as a significant determinant of one's intention to apply and practical ability to acquire citizenship beyond eligibility. We demonstrate how perceived discretionary implementation and red tape not only constrain but also entice migrants to develop strategies to 'enable' access to citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how agents such as agricultural migrants, agricultural employers and local community representatives apply the dual frame of reference (DFR) to naturalize, rationalize and justify the presence of exploitative labor practices for agricultural migrants. The paper gives a qualitative account of social dynamics in two agricultural-dependent communities located in Northern California and South-Eastern Norway. Qualitative one-on-one interviews with agricultural migrant workers (n = 11), employers (n = 10) and community representatives (n = 12) were conducted in English and Spanish. Our findings demonstrate how DFR is utilized by employers to justify labor strategies that rely on migrant workers, employees to rationalize their participation in exploitive work, and by local community representatives to naturalize the exploitative labor practices of migrant workers in their community. Our research findings further add to the analysis by suggesting that the frames of reference are dynamic based on changes of material conditions in the home country. Lastly, we find a third frame of reference focused on the future of the agricultural worker and the hopes for future generations. Combined, these perspectives add to the understanding of the disempowerment of workers, lack of successful changes and overall, upkeeping of exploitative migrant labor systems in the agricultural industries and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature examines how different immigrant attributes influence support for admission and naturalisation, but few studies consider how they affect support for deportation. Naturalisation and deportation follow distinct logics, with the former marking full inclusion into the nation and the latter involving complete exclusion. Citizens are likely to include (through naturalisation) immigrants who have economic and cultural attributes that aid host country integration but will not necessarily exclude (through deportation) immigrants without such traits. Instead, deportation may be reserved for immigrants who have broken rules by entering illegally or overstaying visas. We test our expectations through a survey experiment in which respondents were asked whether hypothetical immigrants already living in the United States should be granted citizenship, allowed to stay without citizenship, or deported. An immigrant's legal status strongly influenced respondents' support for both naturalisation and deportation, while economic and cultural characteristics primarily affected support for naturalisation. Host society integration, including an immigrant's intention to vote if granted citizenship, increased support for naturalisation. Republicans were substantially more likely to deport and less likely to naturalise any hypothetical immigrant. Our findings highlight the need for more research on the factors that shape attitudes toward deportation as a distinct immigration outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using in-depth interviews with British citizens in Belgium, British citizens in the UK who have explored applying for another citizenship and EU27 citizens in the UK, I explore how Brexit impacts decisions among the three groups on whether to apply for naturalisation. The Brexit process has introduced significant uncertainties about its outcome, its impact on the rights and mobility of the groups involved and, in the UK, about xenophobia and the economy. Most British interviewees have explored applying for the citizenship of an EU member state – including Belgium, but also Ireland, France or Italy – by residence, ancestry or marriage, in order to safeguard their rights. EU27 interviewees were more ambivalent about applying for UK citizenship, as citizenship would safeguard their rights, but they were uncertain about the desirability of remaining in the UK. I show that the uncertainties linked to the Brexit process make the naturalisation decision time-dependent, complex and uncertain. More generally, I propose to reconceptualise most naturalisation decisions as contingent, tentative and uncertain tactics, rather than well calculated and foreseeable strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What does it mean to be a 'good American'? Immigrants to the United States have obtained civic knowledge in a variety of ways, including federal textbooks and independent learning, and in different contexts over time, from employer-organised classes to handbooks written by civil society groups. This paper analyses citizenship manuals from one such group – the Daughters of the American Revolution ('D.A.R.') – to trace continuities and changes in definitions of American citizenship over the twentieth century. This paper is the first to make use of these manual archives, which contain over 30 different citizenship manuals, printed between 1921 and 1996. To compare and analyse the corpus of manuals, the paper employs both computer-assisted content analysis through topic modelling and textual interpretation. This approach provides rich descriptive evidence of how American citizenship norms change over a century, the influence of scarcity and war on that identity, as well as the changing role for organisations like the D.A.R. in the civic education of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do wealthy people purchase citizenship in peripheral countries? This article investigates the demand for citizenship by investment programmes, which enable naturalisation based on a donation or financial investment. Extending research on long-distance naturalisation among the middle class and on residence by investment programmes, I examine the motives of the wealthy using citizenship by investment options. Based on over one hundred interviews with rich naturalisers and intermediaries in the citizenship industry, I find that mobility, both in the present and as a future hedge, is a strong driver, followed by business advantages. Often it is privileges in third countries – not the place granting the citizenship – that are sought. In contrast to middle-class strategic naturalisers, quality of life, education options, and job prospects were not important, though navigating geopolitical barriers and risks were. Many naturalisers were not compensating for the failures of their citizenship at birth, but manoeuvering within a world of state competition. Finally, some individuals inverted the citizenship hierarchy and downgraded from 'first tier' memberships when, after years of living abroad, their nationality became a liability. The conclusion elaborates on the duplex structure of intra-state and inter-state inequality that channels demand, and the implications for citizenship more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions within political theory on naturalisation tend to focus on whether or not it is reasonable and fair to make naturalisation conditional on meeting integration requirements. Those who emphasise the right of long-term immigrants to be included as equal citizens argue that automatic naturalisation is preferable, while those who put emphasis on the state's legitimate interest in promoting the conditions for a reasonably just society tend to argue that conditional naturalisation is normatively preferable. However, most participating in this debate seem to agree that naturalisation rules must balance these different concerns. In this paper, we argue that the conflicting views on each side of the automatic-conditional divide can be reconciled by introducing the model of discounting-conditional naturalisation. We suggest that a practice in which integration requirements are gradually relaxed over time can in fact sufficiently accommodate those normative considerations that are in conflict under the current practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical work has documented the socio-economic characteristics of immigrants who naturalise and the effects of naturalisation on labour market outcomes. Political engagement and national identity are, however, salient but understudied dimensions of citizenship. Using two waves of the U.K. Household Longitudinal Study, I investigate immigrants' national identification and political engagement before and after naturalisation. I find that before naturalisation those who acquire citizenship are more likely to identify as British, be familiar with the British political system and are less interested in politics compared to those who do not. I also find that after naturalisation, the importance of new citizens give to their British identity is higher than before, but their interest in politics is lower. I argue that citizenship retains its role as a marker of national identity for immigrants and that the negative association between naturalisation and interest in politics for immigrants is compatible with the low political engagement of the British-born population. I suggest that the further decline in interest in politics following naturalisation may be explained by immigrants' disillusionment with a political narrative that fails to include them. I reflect on the implications of my findings for the conceptualisation of citizenship, for policy, and for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on citizenship policies is flourishing, yet we know little of which naturalisation requirements majorities and minorities find reasonable, and how they view existing citizenship regimes. Drawing on original survey data with young adults in Norway (N = 3535), comprising immigrants and descendants with origins from Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, Somalia and Turkey, as well as a non-immigrant majority group, this article examines whether perceptions of ideal citizenship criteria and assessments of Norway's current rules differ between groups. In terms of ideal citizenship criteria, we find a striking similarity across groups when looking at six different dimensions of citizenship policy. When merged into an index and estimated in a multivariate regression model, we find that both immigrants and descendants are significantly more liberal than natives are, yet the differences are small. When assessing the semi-strict citizenship regime in Norway, we find that immigrants are significantly more positive towards the current rules than natives. The results lend little support to recent work on 'strategic' and 'instrumental' citizenship and point instead to a close to universal conception of the terms of membership acquisition in Norway. This suggests that states may operate with moderate integration requirements while maintaining the legitimacy of the citizenship institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many children of immigrants to Europe, being born in a European country does not give them rights of citizenship. To acquire citizenship of the country of their birth, they typically rely on their parents' naturalisation. While many European countries have tightened requirements for citizenship over recent decades, the impact of new regulations on immigrants' children propensity to naturalise has gone largely unexplored. This paper analyses the impact of two restrictive legislative changes in the Netherlands: the re-introduction of a dual citizenship restriction in 1997, and the introduction of civic integration requirements in 2003. Using register data and event-history models, we analyse the acquisition of Dutch citizenship by children born in the Netherlands between 1995 and 2010 to immigrant parents. We find that the dual citizenship restriction puts families off naturalising while mandatory civic integration sees them postpone naturalisation. The intergenerational impact of naturalisation reforms is also reflected in the extent to which both parents are involved in the naturalisation process. Children eligible under stricter requirements are more likely to naturalise with one parent instead of both, in contrast to earlier eligibility cohorts. These findings shed light on key family dynamics in the acquisition of host country citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper adds insights to the ongoing discussion about how the political participation gap between naturalised immigrants and native citizens can be closed. In contrast to prior research, however, it takes a new turn by looking at the moderating role of national attachments, namely national identity and patriotism, in the relationship between immigration background and political involvement. The research question is explored based on the paradigmatic case of Switzerland with its high levels of foreign born citizens and the historically strong identification as a political nation. Based on the results we can say that national attachments are indeed able to bridge the participation gap. The effect of patriotism – the evaluative dimension of national attachment – thereby plays a more important role for immigrants than simple national identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on migrants to European countries commonly assumes that with naturalisation, migrants' futures are closely linked to the receiving country. However, from a transnational perspective, citizenship acquisition does not necessarily lead to permanent settlement. Apart from the right to stay in the country, citizenship provides for extensive mobility rights and the freedom to settle elsewhere. This mobility premium may be particularly acute for refugees, and previous research indeed shows that EU citizenship is key in their international movement. Yet, knowledge of the demography, socio-economic profile and scale of subsequent movement of new citizens of refugee background is limited. We therefore test the 'naturalisation-as-a-ticket-to-mobility' thesis for a large and heterogeneous group of refugees who received asylum in the Netherlands. Based on longitudinal data, we follow an entire cohort of refugees registered in the Dutch municipal registers between 1995 and 1999 (N = 60,218) over a period of almost two decades. We examine for whom and under which conditions naturalisation results in subsequent international migration. Results from Cox models reveal that citizenship acquisition is generally associated with settlement in the Netherlands. However, for refugees receiving welfare benefits and those with a 'weak passport' prior to naturalisation, Dutch citizenship increases the likelihood of subsequent migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberal citizenship is shaped by the legacies of Athens (democracy) and Rome (legal rights) but operates within a Westphalian framework where citizenship serves to assign mutually recognised responsibilities for individuals to states. I argue that this Westphalian dimension requires that the rules for determining citizenship reflect genuine links between individuals and states and explain why birthright principles and toleration of multiple citizenship are compatible with a genuine link conception. In this conception, citizenship has both instrumental and identity value. The paper argues that liberal trends in citizenship reform generally weaken instrumental incentives for naturalisation. These effects are, however, counterbalanced by enhanced opportunities and interests in mobility rights that strengthen instrumental interests in multiple citizenship among immigrants, among populations in less developed countries and among wealthy elites. Only the latter two trends can potentially undermine a genuine link norm and, if they prevail, replace the Westphalian allocation of citizenship with a global market. I see little evidence that this is going to happen any time soon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the non-resident citizenship made available for Hungarians living beyond Hungary's borders impacted the national identification of newly naturalised non-resident Hungarians. Through the analysis of 51 semi-structured in-depth interviews with recently naturalised Hungarians in Romania, Serbia, the U.S. and Israel, the paper compares how citizenship as a legal institution is perceived, practiced and consumed by Hungarians living in Hungary's neighbouring countries and overseas diasporas. Not denying the instrumental implications of the Hungarian passport, the paper argues that it is also an important means of constructing national identities. My empirical research shows that the passport strengthens the holder's sense of belonging to the national group. In addition, citizenship is also considered as a valuable symbolic asset which can be instrumentalised as means of social closure. Non-resident Hungarians use their Hungarian passports to prove their European ancestry and/or belonging to the Hungarian nation. At the same time, the passport also enables its holder to distance herself from the populations in their home-states in order to elevate the holder's social status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plural citizenship has become a stealth incident of globalisation. Plural citizenship makes liberal theorists uncomfortable. Accepting plural citizenship vindicates autonomy values, but it also challenges equality norms. This paper explores these equality concerns. As a sociological matter, plural citizenship is unlikely to create substantial inequalities in states whose passports enjoy premium status. Additional citizenships for citizens of the global North may result in marginal advantage but will not result in discontinuous life chances. In the South, the rise of plural citizenship may create a new axis of haves and have-nots. Those who can avail themselves fully of developed economies as citizens while remaining connected to their countries of origin will enjoy major advantages over their mono-national homeland counterparts. This objection needs to be taken seriously. However, there is no apparent corrective for the resulting inequality. Efforts to police dual citizenship will result in other inequalities, either by deterring naturalisation by emigrants in their new states of residence or depriving diaspora members of rights in their homeland polities. A better strategy to address the inequalities of dual citizenship would be to further interrogate and dilute the advantages of citizenship itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to contribute to the current debate on integration during economic downturn by analysing to what extent citizenship regimes may offer opportunities for instrumental uses of naturalisation in times of economic crisis. Its main goal is to provide a more nuanced view of citizenship acquisition, its implications and its alleged instrumental uses to stabilise legal status and improve mobility chances. For this purpose, our analysis focuses on the nexus between citizenship regimes and naturalisations trends in Italy and Spain as two major Southern European immigration countries that have similar migration histories, but rather different citizenship regimes. The first part of the article provides an overview of the scholarly debate on the concept of instrumental citizenship and elaborates a typology of the possible instrumental uses by states and migrants. The second part examines the citizenship regimes and analyses the opportunity structures opened up by citizenship acquisition channels in Italy and Spain. Finally, the article analyses naturalisation trends to show that instrumental uses of citizenship acquisition are closely connected to the different opportunity structures offered by the Italian and Spanish citizenship regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes a case for attending to the specificities of child illegality in migrant contexts. This is not simply because children have been left out of previous accounts, but also because their status as minors makes both their citizenship and their illegality different to that of adults. The analysis is based on research with children born to migrants in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia. I argue that such children are configured as Sabah's impossible children, and that this configuration influences their experiences of illegality and exclusion in distinctive ways. From a young age, children are aware of document 'checking' raids and, as 'foreigners', are unable to attend Malaysian schools. However, informal documents from learning centres, as well as age and contingent circumstances, may give them a temporary, 'liminal' legality. Finally, given that irregular migrants experience both exclusion and inclusion in a host nation, the article describes children's urban forms of belonging. These forms of inclusion demonstrate children's engagement with Sabah as a home, as against their political construction as an impossible problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can citizenship improve the economic integration of immigrants, and if so, how? Scholars traditionally understand a citizenship premium in the labour market, besides access to restricted jobs, as the result of a positive signal of naturalisation towards employers. While we do not discard these mechanisms, we argue that explanations should also take into account that migrants anticipate rewards and opportunities of naturalisation by investing in their human capital development. We thus expect to observe improved employment outcomes already before the acquisition of citizenship. We use micro-level register data from Statistics Netherlands from 1999 until 2011 (N = 94,320) to test this expectation. Results show a one-time boost in the probability of having employment after naturalisation, consistent with the prevalent notion of positive signalling. However, we find that the employment probability of naturalising migrants already develops faster during the years leading up to citizenship acquisition, even when controlling for endogeneity of naturalisation. We conclude that it is not just the positive signal of citizenship that improves employment opportunities, but also migrant's human capital investment in anticipation of naturalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demarcated by growing austerity, economic uncertainty and EU-exits, the past decade witnessed monumental shifts across the political and economic landscapes of Europe. Citizenship is a stabilising force in this era of crisis, particularly for intra-EU migrants. In this contribution, I examine how the Euro crisis impacted citizenship acquisition among these migrants. Building upon the model proposed by John Graeber's article [2016. 'Citizenship in the shadow of the Euro crisis: explaining changing patterns in naturalisation among intra-EU migrants.' Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 42 (10): 1670-1692], I discuss the relative importance of citizenship in times of crisis from global and regional perspectives. I argue Graeber's theory presents a strong model for citizenship acquisitions during the crisis, yet leaves the core dyadic structure and several inconsistent findings unexamined. I replicate these models and introduce a dyadic model using bilateral data from 21 receiving and 23 sending states in Europe between 2007 and 2013. Contrary to Graeber's theory, I find citizenship acquisitions among intra-EU migrants primarily coincide with increased in-migration, rather than influences of the Euro crisis. I conclude that while economic sending and receiving contexts matter, the Euro crisis did not appear to restructure intra-EU migrant citizenship incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration scholars have noted the growing role of the courts in expanding migrants’ rights. Drawing from naturalisation litigation in South Korea for case studies, this article investigates the role of the court in determining national membership. Three main findings are presented based upon an analysis of 105 marriage-based and 36 kinship-based litigations filed against the Ministry of Justice in the Seoul Administrative Court. First, the Court adopts a more liberal interpretation of ‘true intention to marry’ than the Ministry, granting citizenship to those who convincingly perform their roles as dutiful wives. Second, the Court plays a more active role in kinship-based than marriage-based naturalisation, challenging the Ministry's too-narrow interpretation of the requirements. Overall, however, the Court shows strong judicial deference to the Ministry and plays a passive role in advocating for the rights of migrants. The Korean case highlights the need to revisit the tendency to view immigration and citizenship as special classes of public laws, over which administrative and legislative bodies of a government can exercise a significant degree of discretion. As citizenship is becoming an important dimension of social stratification, the judicial branch should serve as a check on the executive branch in issuing visas and granting citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Traditionally, immigrants’ propensity to naturalize is attributed to individual characteristics and the origin country. Recently scholars increasingly recognise that naturalisation decisions do not take place in a vacuum: they are conditioned both by the individual life course of immigrants, such as the age at migration and family situation, as well as the opportunity structure set by citizenship policies of the destination country. Yet it is less clear what impact specific policy changes have, and to whom these changes matter most. In this paper we address these questions by analysing citizenship acquisition among first generation immigrants in the Netherlands in light of a restriction in citizenship policy in 2003. We employ unique micro-level longitudinal data from Dutch municipal population registers between 1995 until 2012, which allow us to track naturalisation among different immigration cohorts. We find evidence that indeed naturalisation is part of a larger life course trajectory: immigrants who arrive at a younger age in the Netherlands naturalise more often and so do immigrants with a native partner, or a foreign-born partner who also naturalises. Policy also matters: migrants naturalise later and less often under more restrictive institutional conditions, especially migrants from less developed and politically unstable countries of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship scholars in Europe often focus on the institutional factors that influence naturalisation, but a less explored topic in the literature is the role of politics and group belonging in naturalisation behaviour—factors that have been proven to influence immigrants' behaviour in the North American context. Through analysis of the extensive Trajectories and Origins (2008) data-set, I find that interest in politics shapes naturalisation behaviour and outcomes, and living in an anti-immigrant climate, identifying as Muslim and feeling otherised is negatively correlated with naturalisation behaviour. Lastly, Arab immigrants are more likely to seek French naturalisation and have this status than White, non-EU immigrants. This paper sets a quantitative foundation for the role of political orientation and context, and ethnic group belonging in shaping immigrants' naturalisation behaviour in France. It ends with proposals for a future research agenda on studying the political integration of different ethnic groups in France, and Europe generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Becoming a citizen is a component of a larger process of immigrant incorporation into US society. It is most often treated as an individual-level choice, associated with such personal characteristics as duration of residence in the US, age, education and language acquisition. This study uses microdata from Census 2000 in conjunction with other measures to examine aspects of the community and policy context that influence the choices made by individuals. The results confirm previous research on the effects of individual-level characteristics on attaining citizenship. There is also strong evidence of collective influences: both the varied political histories of immigrant groups in their home country and the political and community environment that they encounter in the US have significant impacts on their propensity for naturalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adds another piece to the puzzle of naturalisation among individuals with an immigrant background by further developing the application of social identity. I suggest that two important determinants of an intention to naturalise are identification with one's country of origin, and discrimination. The effects of these and other predictors associated with social identity theory are empirically tested with data from the 1995 to 2002 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel. The models additionally account for institutionally generated opportunities for naturalisation and their advantages. Findings from conditional fixed-effects models show that intentions to naturalise correspond only partially to the assumptions of social identity theory. Discrimination decreases the odds of respondents intending to naturalise; increasing in-group identification does not. Social and cultural integration are also found to decrease rather than increase the odds, as do unemployment and a short duration of stay. Replicating previous results, political utilities increase the odds that respondents will demonstrate positive naturalisation intentions. The data do not confirm the claim that the higher rates of naturalisation among Turkish nationals are associated with their lower social status and their desire to improve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naturalisation policies define the limits of the liberal state in the sense that they stipulate the requirements which foreigners must meet if they wish to become full members of the liberal polity. In this article I explore the normative issues surrounding such policies. I first analyse liberal arguments that support easy naturalisation after a period of residency, and then nationalist arguments that citizenship should only be granted to those who demonstrate assimilation to the national culture. The nationalist argument is rejected on both normative and empirical grounds. The liberal minimalist argument is found to be compelling, but it is argued that there are resources within liberal theories of citizenship which support more demanding naturalisation policies. The article advances a conception of liberal citizenship based on the ideas of liberal virtue and civic competence and then considers the implications of this for naturalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of JEMS deals with the challenges of migration for citizenship attribution in Western Europe. In this introductory paper we analyse recent developments in citizenship attribution across Western Europe over the past 25 years. Despite the contradictory impact of the instrumentalisation and politicisation of citizenship policies, and the fact that countries have different citizenship traditions and migration experiences, we observe six broad trends. These relate to the descent-based transmission of citizenship by women, men and emigrants; ius soli provisions for second- and third-generation immigrants; the acceptance of multiple citizenship; the introduction of language and integration requirements for naturalisation; the avoidance of statelessness; and the increasing relevance of EU membership. We describe the background and core features of each of these six trends and provide empirical examples from citizenship policies in 18 West European countries since the early 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies on the generational social mobility of immigrant populations have taken into account the socio-economic characteristics of the immigrant groups on the one hand, and the historical and economic conditions of the receiving society, including the legal framework, on the other. However, little attention has so far been paid to the juridical status of immigrant groups. This paper explores the variation in education and employment performance of young people from different immigrant origins (Italians, Portuguese, Turks, Croats, Kosovars and Serbs) and of different citizenship statuses - naturalised, non-naturalised, and Swiss-by-birth. Inter-ethnic group variations become much more muted when social origin and length of stay are controlled for; however, they do not disappear altogether. Naturalised immigrant youth perform best; indeed in many cases, where they are Swiss-born, they out-perform native Swiss. This performance, however, is overlooked by Swiss society because the acquisition of Swiss citizenship makes it statistically invisible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]