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Procedural (in)justice for EU citizens moving to Belgium: an inquiry into municipal registration practices

van den Bogaard, Roos-Marie, Horta, Ana Correia, Van Doren, Wout, Desmet, Ellen, Valcke, Anthony (2022) Procedural (in)justice for EU citizens moving to Belgium: an inquiry into municipal registration practices. Citizenship Studies, 26 (7). pp. 995-1010. ISSN 1469-3593. (doi:10.1080/13621025.2022.2137944) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:107515)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2022.2137944

Abstract

Moving as a French or Dutch citizen to Belgium should be easy, given the freedom of movement of EU citizens. Reality paints a different picture, however. This paper analyses the practices of Belgian municipalities and the Immigration Office as to the registration of EU workers, self-employed, jobseekers and their family members. It is based on a desk study, a survey among a sample of municipalities as well as semi-structured interviews with municipal officials, the Immigration Office and other stakeholders. The paper adopts a legal understanding of ‘procedural justice’, focusing on dimensions of equal treatment and transparency. It shows that the achievement of procedural justice for EU citizens is impaired by divergent and at times questionable practices by street-level bureaucrats. These practices indicate, among others, that varying levels of ‘deservingness’ of residence in Belgium can be observed within the category of mobile EU workers. Furthermore, increased digitalization and the use of intermediaries in the registration procedure facilitate and reinforce differential treatments among EU citizens and their family members.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/13621025.2022.2137944
Uncontrolled keywords: EU workers, family members, procedural justice, equal treatment, transparency, freedom of movement
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Funders: University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
SWORD Depositor: JISC Publications Router
Depositing User: JISC Publications Router
Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2024 12:20 UTC
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2024 13:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/107515 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Valcke, Anthony.

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