Periodic Reporting for period 4 - MiLifeStatus (Migrant Life Course and Legal Status Transition)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2020-09-01 do 2021-12-31
This project studies the relation between migrant naturalisation and integration. Obtaining the citizenship of a host country provides migrants a secure residence status, rights, and participation opportunities and may encourage a sense of belonging. Yet a passport is no panacea; becoming a citizen does not solve each and every problem in an immigrant’s life. Previous research in this field has produced mixed results, since the causal relation between naturalisation and integration is not straightforward and has often been studied within one societal context only.
Over a period of five years, the MiLifeStatus research team aimed to disentangle the relationship between migrant naturalisation and integration in a longitudinal and comparative manner. The central - and innovative - idea of our research is to model migrants’ legal status transitions as life course events, which are in turn shaped by their origin, their family context, and societal structures and institutions. In other words: the value and meaning of citizenship is different for each individual migrant, depending on contextual factors.
By investigating the relevance of citizenship within the individual life course of an immigrant, MiLifeStatus analyses why, how, and for whom legal status transitions matter and how variation in policies between countries impacts on this relation. The research focused on variation in citizenship acquisition rates, as well as how these relate to outcomes among immigrants in socioeconomic domains, such as labor market performance, as well as living conditions, health status, out-migration, and education among descendants of immigrants. We draw on longitudinal register data from the Netherlands, as well as Denmark and Sweden -three destination countries with comparable migration and socioeconomic contexts but different and changing citizenship policies- as well as longitudinal survey data from Germany and comparative European survey data.
Over a period of five years, the MiLifeStatus research team aimed to disentangle the relationship between migrant naturalisation and integration in a longitudinal and comparative manner. The central - and innovative - idea of our research is to model migrants’ legal status transitions as life course events, which are in turn shaped by their origin, their family context, and societal structures and institutions. In other words: the value and meaning of citizenship is different for each individual migrant, depending on contextual factors.
By investigating the relevance of citizenship within the individual life course of an immigrant, MiLifeStatus analyses why, how, and for whom legal status transitions matter and how variation in policies between countries impacts on this relation. The research focused on variation in citizenship acquisition rates, as well as how these relate to outcomes among immigrants in socioeconomic domains, such as labor market performance, as well as living conditions, health status, out-migration, and education among descendants of immigrants. We draw on longitudinal register data from the Netherlands, as well as Denmark and Sweden -three destination countries with comparable migration and socioeconomic contexts but different and changing citizenship policies- as well as longitudinal survey data from Germany and comparative European survey data.
Over the entire course of the project the work performed has resulted in the following output:
16 articles published in international peer-reviewed journals (+ 3 under review, 2 in progress)
12 other scientific publications
2 doctoral dissertations
5 contributions in online public knowledge fora
14 dissemination videos
For a complete overview of all publications, see: https://www.milifestatus.com/publications.
For an overview of all activities (presentations, PhD defenses etc), see: https://www.milifestatus.com/whats-happening.
For all dissemination videos, see: https://www.milifestatus.com/videos.
16 articles published in international peer-reviewed journals (+ 3 under review, 2 in progress)
12 other scientific publications
2 doctoral dissertations
5 contributions in online public knowledge fora
14 dissemination videos
For a complete overview of all publications, see: https://www.milifestatus.com/publications.
For an overview of all activities (presentations, PhD defenses etc), see: https://www.milifestatus.com/whats-happening.
For all dissemination videos, see: https://www.milifestatus.com/videos.
Highlights of results include the following papers published in or under review at international peer reviewed journals:
1) citizenship acquisition
We find that after fifteen years, 80 percent of migrants have acquired Swedish citizenship, whereas two-third of migrants naturalised in the Netherlands and only around a third in Denmark. The introduction of formal language requirements and integration tests in Denmark and the Netherlands pushed these rates further down, especially among migrants with lower levels of education. Dual citizenship acceptance in the Netherlands and Sweden, by contrast, is associated with durably higher citizenship acquisition rates, especially, among migrants from EU and highly developed countries.
Vink, M., A. Tegunimataka, F. Peters and P. Bevelander (2021). Long-term heterogeneity in immigrant naturalisation: the conditional relevance of civic integration and dual citizenship. European Sociological Review 37(5) 751-765.
2) citizenship and socioeconomic integration
We observe 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 migrants’ human capital investment in anticipation of naturalisation.
Peters, F., M. Vink, H. Schmeets (2018). Anticipating the citizenship premium: before and after effects of immigrant naturalization on employment. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44(7) 1051-1080.
3) citizenship and living conditions
We find that naturalised immigrants are 50% more likely to move out of concentrated neighbourhoods, all else constant. The effect of naturalisation is especially relevant for renting without housing benefits and for home ownership, and for mid-risk immigrants who earn around the median income and hold permanent jobs, whose applications face strong scrutiny from landlords, rental agencies and mortgage lenders.
Leclerc, C., M. Vink and H. Schmeets (2021). Citizenship acquisition and spatial stratification: analysing immigrant residential mobility in the Netherlands. Urban Studies.
4) citizenship and health status
We find that first-generation migrants >50 years old were, on average, frailer than non-migrants after confounder-adjustment. This decreased to after adjustment for citizenship. The strength of association between migrant status and frailty was greater in countries with lower healthcare coverage and access for migrants. However, citizenship attenuated this difference.
Walkden, G., E.L. Anderson, M.P. Vink, K. Tilling, L.D. Howe, Y. Ben-Shlomo (2018). Frailty in older-age European migrants: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Social Science & Medicine 213 (2018) 1-11.
5) citizenship and out-migration
A ticket to mobility? Naturalization and outmigration of refugees in the Netherlands: 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.
De Hoon, M., M. Vink and H. Schmeets (2020). A ticket to mobility? Naturalization and outmigration of refugees in the Netherlands. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 46(7) 1185-1204.
6) citizenship and migrant children
This paper studies the effect of host country citizenship on the educational outcomes of immigrants’ children. Results show that children who acquire Dutch citizenship have a substantial advantage in terms of academic performance over those who are still foreign citizens, especially if they naturalised in early childhood. The effects of citizenship are concentrated among students whose parents are at a disadvantage in the labour market and housing market, shedding light on hitherto under-explored effect heterogeneity.
Labussiere, M. Timing of citizenship acquisition and immigrants’ children educational performance: towards causal inference. Under review at scientific journal.
1) citizenship acquisition
We find that after fifteen years, 80 percent of migrants have acquired Swedish citizenship, whereas two-third of migrants naturalised in the Netherlands and only around a third in Denmark. The introduction of formal language requirements and integration tests in Denmark and the Netherlands pushed these rates further down, especially among migrants with lower levels of education. Dual citizenship acceptance in the Netherlands and Sweden, by contrast, is associated with durably higher citizenship acquisition rates, especially, among migrants from EU and highly developed countries.
Vink, M., A. Tegunimataka, F. Peters and P. Bevelander (2021). Long-term heterogeneity in immigrant naturalisation: the conditional relevance of civic integration and dual citizenship. European Sociological Review 37(5) 751-765.
2) citizenship and socioeconomic integration
We observe 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 migrants’ human capital investment in anticipation of naturalisation.
Peters, F., M. Vink, H. Schmeets (2018). Anticipating the citizenship premium: before and after effects of immigrant naturalization on employment. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44(7) 1051-1080.
3) citizenship and living conditions
We find that naturalised immigrants are 50% more likely to move out of concentrated neighbourhoods, all else constant. The effect of naturalisation is especially relevant for renting without housing benefits and for home ownership, and for mid-risk immigrants who earn around the median income and hold permanent jobs, whose applications face strong scrutiny from landlords, rental agencies and mortgage lenders.
Leclerc, C., M. Vink and H. Schmeets (2021). Citizenship acquisition and spatial stratification: analysing immigrant residential mobility in the Netherlands. Urban Studies.
4) citizenship and health status
We find that first-generation migrants >50 years old were, on average, frailer than non-migrants after confounder-adjustment. This decreased to after adjustment for citizenship. The strength of association between migrant status and frailty was greater in countries with lower healthcare coverage and access for migrants. However, citizenship attenuated this difference.
Walkden, G., E.L. Anderson, M.P. Vink, K. Tilling, L.D. Howe, Y. Ben-Shlomo (2018). Frailty in older-age European migrants: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Social Science & Medicine 213 (2018) 1-11.
5) citizenship and out-migration
A ticket to mobility? Naturalization and outmigration of refugees in the Netherlands: 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.
De Hoon, M., M. Vink and H. Schmeets (2020). A ticket to mobility? Naturalization and outmigration of refugees in the Netherlands. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 46(7) 1185-1204.
6) citizenship and migrant children
This paper studies the effect of host country citizenship on the educational outcomes of immigrants’ children. Results show that children who acquire Dutch citizenship have a substantial advantage in terms of academic performance over those who are still foreign citizens, especially if they naturalised in early childhood. The effects of citizenship are concentrated among students whose parents are at a disadvantage in the labour market and housing market, shedding light on hitherto under-explored effect heterogeneity.
Labussiere, M. Timing of citizenship acquisition and immigrants’ children educational performance: towards causal inference. Under review at scientific journal.