Hart Publishing Integration Requirements for Immigrants in Europe: A Legal-Philosophical Inquiry

Product Description This book sets out three central claims about integration requirements as conditions for attaining increased rights (i.e. family migration, permanent residency and citizenship) in Europe: (1) That the recent proliferation of these (mandatory) integration requirements is rooted in a shift towards individualized conceptions of integration. This entails that third country nationals (i.e. legal newcomers who have no citizenship of a EU Member State) must earn their secure residency rights and citizenship by passing a growing number of integration requirements. (2) That this shift is, on the one side, counterproductive as it puts barriers to participation and inclusion of newcomers (who will most likely permanently settle). On the other side, it is normatively problematic, insofar it produces status hierarchies between native-born and immigrant citizens. (3) That the remedy for this situation is a firewall that disconnects integration policy from access to rights. While the state has legitimate interests in promoting integration, access to increased rights for TCNs should not be conditional upon individualized integration. About the Author Tamar de Waal is Assistant Professor of Legal Theory at the Amsterdam Law School, University of Amsterdam.