Domicile citizenship, human mobility and territoriality

Abstract

Formal citizenship often excludes migrants who were not born in the national territory in which they reside and/or were born to parents of foreign nationality. In this article, I explore how the domicile principle of citizenship can better accommodate migrants. Although this principle has a long history, it has only recently received significant attention among scholars. I examine the tensions between formal citizenship, mobility and territoriality, while developing a practical argument in support of domicile as an alternative configuration of territorial formal citizenship. Moreover, I highlight the capacity of domicile to include migrants at local and urban scales.