Migration and citizenship¹

This article proposes a notion of citizenship which goes beyond its nominal meaning of ‘membership of a state’. Citizenship is seen as a normative as well as an analytical concept, which refers to the equality and universality of rights embedded in the institutions of political communities. Citizen rights of migrants have to be analysed within a framework which includes both the sending and receiving state. Different bundles of rights are identified, which determine positions of migrants within this frame of reference. The article categorises rights according to their dependence on nominal citizenship and on residence into universal human rights, internal and external citizenship, alien rights and special rights of long term resident alien citizens. The normative content of citizenship can be invoked to challenge the legitimation of inequalities and boundaries between the positions of citizenship, held by immigrants and native populations. Two different approaches to policy changes along these lines are discussed: an egalitarian one, proposing the adjustment of lower levels of rights towards already established higher ones; and a liberal one, focussing on the possibilities of upward mobility. The conclusion is that the egalitarian approach is superior because it can incorporate the concern about making boundaries permeable by demanding rights of transition.