Becoming and Belonging? Lived experiences of naturalization and the implementation of citizenship law in Germany and Canada

Abstract

Naturalization, the acquisition of citizenship, constitutes the final step of a migrant’s formal integration process. For many, becoming a citizen means gaining civic rights, protection from deportation, and freedom of movement. Citizenship policies are often interpreted as a reflection of a country's identity – what it values in a citizen – and are commonly used as an indicator of a country's general approach to immigration. Naturalization literature has long sought to determine and evaluate the precise factors deciding whether someone will become a citizen.

This dissertation examines the process of citizenship acquisition, its impact on the individual naturalizing and the experiences of those enforcing citizenship policy day-to-day. It asks how someone acquires citizenship formally, administratively, and emotionally and how that citizenship is interpreted. How is citizenship law put into action? Does becoming a citizen mean that someone feels like they belong to that country? Employing a bottom-up approach, this research studies the implementation of citizenship policy utilizing in-depth interviews with both new citizens and street-level bureaucrats in Germany and Canada. It combines theoretical and methodological approaches from public administration, political science and socio-legal studies incorporating questions of discretion and the perception thereof, definitions of citizenship, and legal consciousness.