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Publication

Life satisfaction and the UK citizenship process: do tests and ceremonies enhance immigrants’ lives?

Publication type

Journal Article

Author

Publication date

December 15, 2018

Summary

Gaining citizenship in the UK requires applicants to pass a “Life in the UK” test and (if successful) attend a citizenship ceremony. Critics of this policy agenda assert that it exacerbates exclusion of an already vulnerable and disadvantaged population. The UK government justifies the requirements in part on the basis that they facilitate integration, thus enhancing immigrants’ lives. This article, using data from the UK longitudinal household survey (“Understanding Society”) considers outcomes for immigrants by investigating whether gaining citizenship in the current period is associated with immigrants’ subjective well‐being. Results from regression models and matching analyses show that participating in the citizenship process (or not) is not generally associated with individuals’ life satisfaction.

Volume and page numbers

Volume: 56 , p.24 -35

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12477

ISSN

207985

Subjects

Notes

Open Access
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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