Becoming German: Naturalization Processes among "Labor Migrants" in a Hesitant Immigration Country

Claudia Diehl, Bundesinstitut für Bevoelkerungsforschung

Becoming German: Naturalization Processes among "Labor Migrants" in a hesitant immigration country The aim of this presentation is to assess the logic of the decision to naturalize for first and second generation "labor migrants" in Germany and to explain why some immigrants acquire citizenship and others do not, even though they are entitled to naturalize. It will be shown that an explanation that refers to differences in the legal rights different migrant groups acquire by naturalizing is not satisfying in explaining differential naturalization rates. Instead, special emphasis is put on the role of immigrants' social and cultural adaptation in the process of becoming a citizen - a factor that is often neglected in naturalization research. Data are drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and from a quantitative survey among 1200 Turkish and 1200 Italian mostly second-generation migrants in Germany.