DATE / TIME:

2015•11•25    12:30 - 13:30

Location:

Maastricht

In this seminar, Dr. Djamila Schans (WODC, Ministry of Security and Justice, the Netherlands) will present “Obstacles to naturalization in the Netherlands: a case study of ‘Ranov Licensees’”. The seminar will be held from 12:30-13:30 in room 0.16/0.17 of the new UNU-MERIT building at Boschstraat 24. A sandwich lunch will be provided.

Abstract
In 2007, almost 28 000 asylum seekers received a residence permit on the basis of an amnesty (generaal pardon). Of the persons covered by the amnesty, almost 30 percent has applied for and received Dutch citizenship by 2015. This percentage is below what is expected based on the literature. Previous studies show a high inclination to naturalize among former refugees. This study concerns the motives of so-called ‘Ranov Licensees’ whether or not to submit a request for naturalization and the possible obstacles they encounter in the process. The basis of the study consists of background data on 24 899 Ranov Licensees, survey data from 419 respondents, and semi-structured interviews with 15 informants. Results show that the desire to naturalize is very high. Obstacles to naturalization do exist. Not being in possession of the necessary identity documents to submit a request for naturalization is by far the main obstacle.

Speaker biography
Djamila Schans works as a senior researcher on Asylum and Migration at the WODC, the Scientific Research and Documentation Center of the Ministry of Security and Justice. She holds a PhD in sociology from Utrecht University and has conducted postdoctoral research on different aspects of migrant family life, including family care arrangements and transnational family life at the University of Amsterdam and Maastricht University. She was a JSPS scholar at Ochanomizu University in Japan and a Fulbright scholar at UCLA. Articles on different aspects of migrant family life have been published in Ethnic and Racial studies, Journal of Marriage and Family, International Migration Review and Ageing & Society.