Does ease of acquiring nationality attract asylum seekers?

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Johan Leman, 13 September 2024

I have previously supervised a PhD student who studied in Istanbul at an UNHCR center why migrants in transit choose a particular country. The three main criteria were: whether a country prefers certain migrants (e.g., Canada), the country’s reputation regarding the labor market (e.g., Germany), and the reception conditions (e.g., Scandinavian countries at the time). The latter criterion included: basic income conditions (compared between countries) and the reputation regarding human rights. The question of acquiring nationality was never addressed. Based on my personal experience, I would add a fourth criterion: the presence of family members.

Conclusion: In the absence of contrary evidence, the conditions related to acquiring nationality do not influence a country’s attractiveness for asylum applications. What might have an impact, however, is the financial support in terms of reception conditions.

Regarding the increased difficulty in obtaining nationality, I would like to add a warning. This could, in the long run, be very counterproductive for our country. It might directly encourage migrants to integrate minimally and send their wages maximally to their country of origin.

A final remark. When I posted the same 140-character message as here on my blog on X-Twitter, Mr. Francken responded: “I don’t make people believe that. It’s about nationality, not asylum. It’s partly a budgetary measure. And it’s necessary.” But… if you look at how the people who reacted to my message on X interpreted his proposal, you’ll see that they systematically perceived it as a measure against asylum. I assume that Francken indeed did not want to make a link with asylum, but… it says a lot about the obsession many people have today with asylum.

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