Conditions as Internal Borders: The Case of ‘Security of Residence’ for Third-Country Nationals in Austria

Abstract

The recent literature on the rights of third-country nationals and their subsequent acquisition of residence rights and citizenship status highlights the fulfilment of integration requirements, such as language proficiency and citizenship tests (Joppke, 2007; Mourão Permoser, 2012). This has instigated scholarly and public debates on whether integration policies are in fact becoming a tool of an exclusionary immigration policy or whether they can be understood as an instance of symbolic politics, with the primary aim of sending a restrictive message to (potential) migrants. Such requirements exist likewise in Austria. I argue, however, that classification of aliens and the fulfilment of income requirements are powerful state technologies to assign rights and secure residence status to third-country nationals. Historically, the tendency has clearly been towards the expansion of residence rights for third-country nationals. The respective European Union directives were important milestones in harmonising the requirements and scope of rights. Focusing on the relevance of these new mechanisms — classification and income requirements — I attempt to contribute to comparative studies on the rights of third-country nationals by showing that the new requirements lead to new forms of inclusion and exclusion, and ultimately tend to reduce access to rights for many migrants.