Choosing to be a Citizen: The Time-Path of Citizenship in Australia

Abstract

This article uses census data to examine the process of becoming a citizen in Australia, and examines differences in the process among major immigrant groups. Some immigrant groups, Mediterranean and Third World immigrants, have a much more rapid transition to citizenship than others. Northwestern Europeans begin more slowly, but catch up several decades later. Anglophone immigrants are altogether less likely to become citizens. The analysis further reveals that people who migrate as children and thus are educated in Australia decide to become citizens more quickly than adulthood immigrants. Indeed, some of them become citizens as children (if their parents did so then). Other measures of affiliation to Australia have ambiguous effects. Social class is unrelated to the decision to become a citizen.

Citizenship Lessons from the Past: The Contours of Immigrant Naturalization in the Early 20th Century*

“…3 Time in the United States also matters because the more years an immigrant lives in his or her new home, the more likely he or she is to naturalize. Time might reduce the costs of citizenship and make the benefits more apparent (Jasso and Rosenzweig, 1986;Yang, 1994), or it may mark assimilation and growing attachment to the new home (Evans, 1988;Liang, 1994).…”

“…Using Census microfile data assembled and standardized through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), I estimate the determinants of citizenship in 1900 and 1920 using logistic regression models. The individual attributes explanation suggests that years of residence, age, English ability, education, and country of origin all influence citizenship acquisition (Bernard, 1936;Evans, 1988;Jasso and Rosenzweig, 1986;Liang, 1994;Yang, 1994). The Census questions on years of residence, age, and English ability are similar for 1900 and 1920, providing a highly comparable measure of these variables.…”

The North American Naturalization Gap: An Institutional Approach to Citizenship Acquisition in the United States and Canada

“…cohorts, consequently understating citizenship differences in many cases. Scholars have long recognized that naturalization is strongly correlated with length of residence: the longer an immigrant lives in the receiving country, the more likely he or she will be a citizen (Bernard, 1936;Evans, 1988;Gavit, 1922). Language ability, socioeconomic integration or feelings of belonging can grow over time, and the benefits of citizenship might become more salient.…”

“…The bulk of the 'New World' literature on naturalization follows this paradigm. Studies show that a curvilinear relationship exists between education and propensity to naturalize (Neice, 1978;Portes and Curtis, 1987;Yang, 1994), and that English language competence is positively correlated with naturalization (Evans, 1988;Jasso and Rosenzweig 1986;Yang, 1994). There is less agreement regarding other individual-lwel attributes.…”

Attitudes toward home‐based employment for mothers of young children: Australian evidence

“…The population covered is defined as English-speaking citizens over age 18 who are resident at the address they provided to the Electoral Office and who are capable of answering a self-completion questionnaire. The citizenship limitation is not substantively important, because prior research shows that, except for length of residence, there are few significant differences between immigrants and citizens (Evans, 1988). The surveys are conducted by mail using a modification of Dillman's Total Response Method (Dillman, 1993).…”