Paper Short Abstract:

This paper draws upon fieldwork in citizenship preparation classes in Greece and discusses the strenuous labour of citizenship: the learning processes and the navigation of bureaucracies within an arbitrary and shifting legal framework that, often, deems eligible applicants non-eligible.

Paper Abstract:

This paper draws upon fieldwork in citizenship test preparation classes in Greece and discusses the crafting of citizens-to-be. The citizenship test has been introduced in the last years as a standardized, transparent, rapid, and objective method of evaluation of noncitizens’ integration in the country. However, critiques have scrutinized the difficulty of the test and its horizontal character – the fact that it is addressed to applicants with advanced literacy skills and that it requires extraordinary memorizing skills. Eligibility to citizenship must be proven and citizenship is, in fact, earned through a laborious process. Citizenship applicants as well as various brokers who mediate in the process of citizenship acquisition engage in the strenuous labour of citizenship that includes specific learning processes, navigating bureaucracies and dealing with an arbitrary and shifting legal framework that, often, deems eligible applicants non-eligible. Moreover, citizenship classes include a learning process that aims to craft moral, Greek and European citizens. However, as my research has shown, many times, the best students in these classes are the ones who are excluded from legal citizenship as they do not fulfil the income criteria, a recently introduced essential element and prerequisite of naturalization.