Offshore Citizens: Permanent Temporary Status in the Gulf

Session Submission Type: Author meet critics

Session Description

When it comes to extending citizenship to some groups, why might ruling political elites say neither “yes” nor “no,” but “wait”? The dominant theories of citizenship tend to recognize clear distinctions between citizens and aliens; either one has citizenship or one does not. This book shows that not all populations are fully included or expelled by a state; they can be suspended in limbo – residing in a territory for protracted periods without accruing citizenship rights. This in-depth case study of the United Arab Emirates uses new archival sources and extensive interviews to show how temporary residency can be transformed into a permanent legal status. Temporary residency can informally become permanent through visa renewals and the postponement of naturalization cases. In the UAE, temporary residency was also codified into a formal citizenship status through the outsourcing of passports from the Union of the Comoros, allowing elites to effectively reclassify minorities into foreign residents.

Sub Unit

• Division 52: Migration & Citizenship

Chairs

• Noora Anwar Lori Boston University

• Elizabeth F. Cohen Syracuse University

Presenters

• Demetra Fannie Kasimis University of Chicago

• Oxana Shevel Tufts University

• Loren B. Landau University of the Witwatersrand