Barriers to the Equal Treatment of (aspirant) Citizens: The Case of the Application of Nationality Law in Belgium

Abstract

Through the analysis of in‐depth interviews with 36 officers involved in nationality acquisition procedures and representatives of associations working to support candidates, I analyse the application of current Belgian nationality law. I show how significant variation, mainly between different territorial offices, exists in the application of the law and how such variation contradicts the fundamental democratic norm of the equality of (aspirant) citizens. This is despite legislation with a high level of codification of the requirements, as well as a procedure that involves magistrates and allows full judicial review, conditions that should leave very little space for discretion. I argue that such variation in the Belgian case arises mainly from the decentralized organization of the procedure and the lack of measures to assure shared interpretations of the law at the national level.

Brexit as a Trigger and an Obstacle to Onwards and Return Migration

“…While I cannot discuss in detail such tactics for reasons of space, I should underline how UK citizens in Belgium did not only apply for Belgian citizenship, but also for the citizenships of other EU member states on the basis of marriage, or ancestry. In addition to needing to qualify for the requirements, the interviewees in both countries encountered difficulties with the particularly high fee and discretion linked to the UK naturalization process, and with the local variability in the implementation of the Belgian law on nationality (Sredanovic, 2020).…”

Employment Effect of Citizenship Acquisition: Evidence from the Belgian Labour Market

“…For more information, please refer to http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/loi/1984/06/28/1984900065/justel. See alsoCorluy et al (2011);Geddes and Niessen (2007); HCE(2018) andSredanovic (2019).…”