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Explaining access to citizenship in Europe: How citizenship policies affect naturalization rates

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  • Jaap Dronkers
  • Maarten Peter Vink

Abstract

In Europe, a variety of national policies regulate access to citizenship. This article analyses how citizenship policies affect naturalization rates among immigrants. Our analysis confirms that favourable citizenship policies positively affect naturalization rates, especially among first-generation immigrants with more than 5 but fewer than 20 years of residence. However, most variation is explained by other factors. Immigrants from poor, politically unstable, and non-EU countries are more likely to be a citizen of their European country of residence. Other important predictors of the citizenship status of immigrants are language, years of residence (first generation), and age (second generation). Explanations of naturalization rates in Europe should not only take into account institutional conditions but also include other destination and origin country factors and individual characteristics of immigrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaap Dronkers & Maarten Peter Vink, 2012. "Explaining access to citizenship in Europe: How citizenship policies affect naturalization rates," European Union Politics, , vol. 13(3), pages 390-412, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:13:y:2012:i:3:p:390-412
    DOI: 10.1177/1465116512440510
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fenella Fleischmann & Jaap Dronkers, 2007. "The Effects of Social and Labour Market Policies of EU-countries on the Socio-Economic Integration of First and Second Generation Immigrants from Different Countries of Origin," RSCAS Working Papers 2007/19, European University Institute.
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    3. Fenella Fleischmann, 2007. "The Effects of Social and Labour Market Policies of EU-countries on the Socio-Economic Integration of First and Second Generation Immigrants from Different Countries of Origin," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 19, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
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    Cited by:

    1. Rezart Hoxhaj & Maarten Vink & Tijana Prokic-Breuer, 2019. "Immigrant Naturalisation, Employment and Occupational Status in Western Europe," RSCAS Working Papers 2019/16, European University Institute.
    2. Stéfanie André, 2014. "Does Trust Mean the Same for Migrants and Natives? Testing Measurement Models of Political Trust with Multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 963-982, February.
    3. Didier Ruedin, 2015. "Increasing Validity by Recombining Existing Indices: MIPEX as a Measure of Citizenship Models," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(2), pages 629-638, June.
    4. Vahan Sargsyan, 2017. "Treatment-Related Naturalization Premiums in Two European Countries: Evaluation and Comparison," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp585, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    5. Bevelander, Pieter & Spång, Mikael, 2014. "From Aliens to Citizens: The Political Incorporation of Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 7920, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Ili, Dragan, 2016. "Prejudice in Naturalization Decisions: Theory and Evidence," Working papers 2016/04, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    7. Ilić, Dragan, 2018. "Prejudice in naturalization decisions: Theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 1-18.

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