Title: Offshore Citizens
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 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 Comoros, allowing elites to effectively re-classify minorities into foreign residents.
Subjects: Law, united arab emirates, Citizenship, Noncitizens, Foreign workers, Legal status, laws, Emigration and immigration law, Emigration and immigration, Aliens, StaatsangehoÌ#x88;rigkeit, Arbeitnehmer, Migration, Nationalismus, Staatenlosigkeit, Staatsangehörigkeit