Katja Swider

Bio: Katja Swider is an academic researcher from University of Amsterdam. The author has contributed to research in topics: Statelessness & Stateless protocol. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 15 publications receiving 37 citations.

Pre-Accession Changes to Residence-based Naturalisation Requirements in Ten New EU Member States

Abstract: This study investigates how access to residence-based naturalisation has changed in ten Central and Eastern European EU member states before theis accession. It focuses on the legislative amendments made during the time of EU pre-accession conditionality, specifically between the entry into force of the Europe Agreement and the date of accession, when the supervidion of the EU Commission over legal and political developments in those states was strongest. The changes are analysed and evaluated as to their liberal nature, which shows that wilde the EU pre-accession documents promote the principle of inclusivesness, the legislative amendments in the field of naturalisation that were in fact introduced during the pre-accession time result in higher exclusion.

Protection and identification of stateless persons through EU law

Abstract: A number of recent studies confirm that statelessness is a widespread phenomenon in the EU, which is not receiving adequate attention. The lack of well-functioning statelessness determination procedures is at the root of many problems associated with statelessness in the EU. These are, in particular, the inadequate protection of stateless persons and deficiencies in the prevention and reduction of statelessness. This paper argues in favour of common EU action on the identification and protection of stateless persons by analyzing the EU competence to pass relevant legislation, and explaining the desirability for such legislation.

Why Union Law Can and Should Protect Stateless Persons

Abstract: This contribution argues that the European Union can and should establish a legal framework for the identification and protection of stateless persons who reside in one of the Member States. Our proposal for EU legislative action is based on the observation that the post-war international legal framework for protecting stateless persons has failed to take root in a majority of EU Member States. This contribution analyses the potential of the EU to address protection failures stemming from legislative inactivity of Member States. We argue that the EU is competent to address the issue and that EU action need not conflict with Member States’ prerogatives in nationality matters. The key elements of an EU directive on statelessness would consist of common criteria for i) a fair procedure for determining whether a person is stateless; ii) the standard of treatment to be accorded to stateless persons; and iii) the conditions of residence for stateless persons.

Practices and Approaches in EU Member States to Prevent and End Statelessness

Abstract: This study was commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee. It describes the practices and approaches in all EU Member States as regards the prevention and eradication of statelessness. For that purpose the different national practices are assessed in light of the relevant international and European standards. Since proper mechanisms to identify stateless populations are lacking in a majority of Member States, the study addresses the procedures used in determining statelessness and analyses the role of the EU in preventing and reducing statelessness.

Understanding Montenegrin citizenship

Abstract: This paper maintains that although the citizenship regime of Montenegro was generated amidst domestic political competition, it has also been significantly affected by regional and international political forces. Applying Bellamy's (Bellamy, R., 2004. Introduction: the making of modern citizenship. In: R. Bellamy, D. Castiglione and E. Santoro, eds. Lineages of European citizenship: rights, belonging and participation in eleven nation-states. London: Palgrave, 1–21) concept of the lineages of citizenship to the case of Montenegro, this study explains how citizenship polices were used to manage the fragile political milieu within this weak and unconsolidated post-Yugoslav state. Further explanations for the restrictiveness of Montenegro's citizenship regime are based on the legacies of the different Yugoslav ‘citizenship constellations’. Yet as a consequence of the country's aspirations to join the European Union, the rigid citizenship regime of Montenegro remains permeable to international norms and influ...

The naturalisation procedure: measuring the ordinary obstacles and opportunities for immigrants to become citizens

Abstract: The legal provisions for ordinary naturalisation determine which foreign residents may apply for naturalisation. However, these legal provisions are not the only opportunities and obstacles that immigrants face on the path to citizenship. Administrative procedures are crucially important for the implementation of these legal provisions and guarantee access in practice. Based on existing literature on the implementation of naturalisation policies, the ACIT project calculated 38 ‘Implementation Indicators’ (CITIMP), which measure the formal steps of the ordinary naturalisation procedures in 35 European countries. The CITIMP results suggest that most countries’ procedures contain as many obstacles as opportunities for ordinary naturalisation with many clear patterns across Europe. Promotional measures are often missing or poor quality. Legal exemptions for documentation rarely exist on humanitarian or vulnerability grounds. Documentation from countries of origin is especially complicated for applicants. Not only are most ordinary naturalisation procedures discretionary, but so are many language, integration and economic resource requirements. Most procedures involve potentially long processing times and some amount of bureaucracy, especially when the deciding authority is the executive or legislature. Judicial review is often not guaranteed for language or integration requirements or on specific issues such as discrimination within the procedure. Moreover, this paper finds that European countries that facilitate their ordinary naturalisation law do not necessarily facilitate the procedure. Whatever the interpretation of the meaning of these results, the descriptive analysis confirms the importance of measuring administrative practices

Blood or soil, which one is thicker? : the obligations of EU member-states for the international protection of stateless children

Abstract: Statelessness has grave implications for the lives of millions of children across the globe. Without a nationality, children cannot have their rights effectively protected, despite the international protections enshrined in the Stateless Conventions. Whilst the UN launched a Global Action campaign to eradicate statelessness, many children seeking refuge in the EU are classified as having ‘undetermined’ nationality. These children grow up in limbo, completely unprotected. The aim of this dissertation is to critically evaluate the existing safeguards aimed at preventing childhood statelessness, while assessing EU Member States compliance with them, both in law and in practice. The main argument advanced in this dissertation is that the discretion afforded to Member States in this field allows for double-standards for the type and extent of protection granted to children. Consequently, it is advanced that the only way to effectively address this issue is by adopting a holistic child based-rights approach at the EU level and an independent monitoring system that helps harmonise the practice of Member State and ultimately ensure a child’s right to nationality, especially when otherwise stateless.

Citizens-minus and citizens-plus : a normative attempt to defend citizenship acquisition as an entitlement based on residence

Abstract: Examining Board: Professor Rainer Baubock, European University Institute (supervisor) Professor Anna Triandafyllidou, European University Institute Professor Joseph Carens, University of Toronto Professor David Owen, University of Southampton