Better Legal Status, Better Integration? the Role of EU Citizenship for Integration of Bulgarian Migrants in Germany

After the EU accession in 2007, Bulgarian migrants obtained EU citizenship status. In spite of the improved legal position of Bulgarian migrants in Germany, concerns about their integration particularly on the labour market have occurred, for instance undeclared work, bogus self-employment and precarious labour conditions. On the one hand it is assumed that integration challenges may be attributed to contested EU citizenship rights. On the other hand it is assumed that the recent pattern of Bulgarian migration in terms of socio-demographic characteristics is disadvantageous for integration. 

Empirical evidence is provided by administrative data and a migrant survey carried out among 401 Bulgarian migrants in Hamburg between December 2012 and March 2013. EU citizenship has been contextualized in Germany in a restrictive manner, mainly in the economic area by limiting the labour market access and in the social area by contentious granting of social welfare benefits. Empirical evidence is found that contested EU citizenship rights hamper the integration of Bulgarian migrants on the labour market und reduce the value of EU citizenship for the individual.