In Belgium, naturalization opens the doors to employment
It is now well established: in Belgium, naturalization has an immediate effect in terms of job search. Indeed, naturalized immigrants are more likely to get a job than those who are not. The effect would even be immediate.
According to a study carried out in December 2022 by Sousso Bignadi and Céline Piton, relayed by the National Bank of Belgium, naturalized immigrants have, in fact, 7% more chances of finding a job in Belgium. What the two specialists prefer most curiously is that said naturalization has an almost immediate impact in the matter.
Specialists have found that this does not necessarily apply to public employment. However, the employment advantage of naturalization is greater over time. In other words, even for public jobs, the naturalization ended up offering a real advantage.
Naturalization helps men more than women and benefits non-EU migrants
Sousso Bigandi and Céline Piton have however adapted a detail: “this phenomenon benefits men more than women”, they assure. Also, the results of the study indicate that individuals with a medium level of education benefit less from naturalization than those with a high or low level of education.
It should also be noted that the phenomenon of this study applies better to immigrants from countries outside the European Union. Indeed, before naturalization, these people, unlike Europeans, are vulnerable and disadvantaged on the Belgian labor market. Thus, note the authors of the study, “obtaining Belgian nationality allows immigrants to overcome certain obstacles more easily when looking for a job”.
It should be noted that the analysis was based on data from the Crossroads Bank for Social Security (BCSS) and the Labor Force Survey (EFT) from the Belgian statistical office Statbel for the period from 2008 to 2014. Sousso Bigandi and Céline Piton recall that at the time, “obtaining Belgian nationality did not require learning a language or following an integration process”. “Only one condition had to be met to apply: to be legally resident in the country for at least 7 years”, they specify.