How immigrants experience integration in
15 European cities
SURVEY
IMMIGRANT
CITIZENS
PARTNERS
Managing Partners
King Baudouin Foundation (KBF)
Migration Policy Group (MPG)
Co-funders:
European Commission
King Baudouin Foundation
Fundação Calouste
Gulbenkian Oak Foundation
Belgium
King Baudouin Foundation (KBF)
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
France
Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Science Po)
France Terre d’Asile
Germany
Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on
Integration and Migration (SVR, Germany)
Hungary
MTAKI (MTA Etnikai-nemzeti Kisebbségkutató Intézet)
Menedék Hungarian Association for Migrants
Italy
Fondazione Ismu – Initiatives and Studies on Multiethnicity
Portugal
High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural
Dialogue (ACIDI)
Spain
University of Leicester
Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas
Fundacion CIDOB
Branding and Design:
CITIZENSHIP
LONG - TERM RESIDENCE
FAMILY REUNION
CIVIC AND POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION
LANGUAGES
EMPLOYMENT
CITIZENSHIP
 Have you ever applied to become a citizen?
 When did you apply?
HIGHLIGHTS
 Which procedure did you use?
 What happened to your application?
 What problems did you have applying?
 How has becoming a citizen helped you personally?
 Do you want to become a citizen? Why not?
 How might becoming a citizen help you personally?
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A CITIZEN?
 Most temporary residents are not only
interested in becoming long-term residents in
the countries where they live.
DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A CITIZEN?
Around 3 out of 4
immigrants are or want
to become citizens
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
WHY DO YOU NOT WANT TO BECOME A CITIZEN?
 The few temporary residents who do not
want to naturalise often do not see the value
of citizenship or have other reasons that are
specific to their country.
 In all other countries, one major reason (4257%) is that the foreigners who do want to
naturalise, especially long-term residents, do
not see the difference between their current
status and citizenship.
WHY DO YOU NOT WANT TO BECOME A
CITIZEN?
Major reasons not to naturalise
are difficult procedures in
France and restrictions on
dual nationality in Germany.
The few uninterested in
citizenship often either do not
see the difference with their
current status or face specific
policy obstacles.
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
MOST IMMIGRANTS ARE OR WANT TO BECOME CITIZENS
 Overall, around three out of four non-EU
immigrants in most ICS cities said that they
are or want to become citizens.
MOST IMMIGRANTS ARE OR WANT TO
BECOME CITIZENS
Naturalisation is more common among established
immigration countries and among facilitated groups in
Hungary and Spain.
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
AFTER HOW MANY YEARS LIVING IN THE COUNTRYDID YOU
APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP?
 In several cases, immigrants who are eligible
for naturalisation take years to apply.
 Applicants who meet the residence
requirement must not only be interested in
applying, but also fulfil all the other legal
requirements.
AFTER HOW MANY YEARS LIVING IN THE
COUNTRY DID YOU APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP?
Immigrants
who are
eligible for
naturalisation
often take
years to
apply.
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
AFTER 20+ YEARS IN THE COUNTRY, HAVE YOU BECOME A
CITIZEN?
 The ICS results raise concerns over the full
long-term inclusion of foreign residents in
several countries.
 Immigrants who are not citizens of their
country of residence or other EU countries
are mostly absent from national politics,
possibly exposed to the threat of expulsion,
and, in several EU countries, excluded from
public sector jobs, some professions, and full
social rights.
AFTER 20+ YEARS IN THE COUNTRY, HAVE
YOU BECOME A CITIZEN?
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
DID YOU HAVE PROBLEMS APPLYING FOR CITIZENSHIP?
 When surveyed immigrants did apply for
citizenship, they reported the most problems
with the policy or implementation in cities in
France, Portugal, Italy and Belgium,
especially Antwerp.
DID YOU HAVE PROBLEMS APPLYING FOR
CITIZENSHIP?
CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
HOW HAS CITIZENSHIP HELPED YOU?
 Once immigrants naturalise, they feel the
effects of citizenship in their own lives, their
jobs, and often their local communities.
HOW HAS CITIZENSHIP HELPED YOU?
Citizenship helps immigrants feel more settled, get better jobs, and even get
more educated and involved.
How immigrants experience integration in
15 European cities
SURVEY
IMMIGRANT
CITIZENS
Branding and Design: