Time and Identity. The relation between time and identity in the context of family migration law

NWO Onderzoekstalent 2012 – Hemme Battjes, Martijn Stronks

What are the legal consequences if a migrant spends time in a country? Often s/he will receive stronger status, sometimes even if his residence was illegal. Why? Is this because her/his identity has changed and s/he now belongs to the country? Time is never the sole ground for stronger status, nowadays there are even integration tests testing the migrants changed identity. This research maps the complex role of time and its relation to identity in case of family reunification in migration law. It subsequently provides a structural analysis of this role on the basis of the philosophy of Ricoeur.