A Re-definition of Belonging?: Language and Integration Tests in Europe (Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy in Europe, 20)

The introduction of language and integration tests as a condition for naturalisation and other types of legal residence permits reflects an important recent change in citizenship policies in European countries. In this book, experts from nine countries re All you need to know to become an Austrian : naturalisation policy and citizenship testing in Austria / Bernhard Perchinig Citizenship tests in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK / Ricky Van Oers On trial in Denmark / Eva Ersboll Integration measures in France : an evolving process between integration and migration issues / Yves Pascouau Integration tests in Germany : a communitarian approach? / Ines Michalowski Ethnic citizenship : can it be obtained and tested? / Judit Toth Latvian integration policy : lost in translation / Kristine Kruma Language and integration requirements in Belgium : discordances between the Flemish policy of "inburgering" and the federal legislators' view(s) on the integration of newcomers and migrants / Marie-Claire Foblets and Zeynep Yanasmayan Mapping the redefinition of belonging in Europe / Ricky van Oers, Eva Ersboll and Dora Kostakopoulou. Language and integration tests as a condition for naturalisation and various types of legal residence permits are topical issues in several European Member States. The introduction of the tests reflects a change in ideas on the relationship between legal status and integration.Since the introduction of the tests is a rather recent development, little is known of the effects of the formalised testing schemes. Whether the tests have in fact contributed to the integration of immigrants in the host society or whether they function as a mechanism for selection and exclusion is unknown. In this book, experts from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom analyse the policies concerning the integration of newcomers and/or future citizens in their countries.