Citizenship processes and migration phenomena in Europe

This commentary underscores the intricate ways citizenship is controlled, shaped and limited in the context of immigration, showing how global migration challenges and redefines notions of belonging. It is argued that, in order to grasp the multifaceted experiences of immigrants and their families, it is essential to examine key factors such as unequal access to rights within hierarchical systems, disruptions stemming from socially assigned identities like race, gender, class, and nationality, and their ability to exercise meaningful and substantive forms of citizenship in their daily lives. It is also pointed out that the ongoing marginalisation of formerly colonised and racialised communities within Western (European) democracies reveals that formal legal status often fails to secure genuine inclusion, positioning many migrants as second-class citizens.