Dual citizenship for naturalising migrants is increasingly accepted in public policy across Europe, yet it remains controversial in various contexts and within public opinion. Notably, the extent to which restrictive attitudes towards dual citizenship vary cross-nationally and the factors driving these differences remain under-researched.
At this event, Maarten Vink, Chair in Citizenship Studies and Director of the Global Citizenship research area within the Global Governance Programme, will present its paper drawing on original observational and experimental survey data from 17 European countries, collected in 2022 and 2023. Based on the first-ever cross-national survey measuring support for dual citizenship, the research identifies significant variation, with stronger support across all countries for restricting dual citizenship for naturalising immigrants compared to restricting it for citizens who naturalise abroad.
This research finds that restrictive attitudes are associated with prejudice towards culturally more distant migration contexts, particularly regarding naturalising immigrants and among individuals exhibiting higher levels of hierarchical out-group prejudice.