FROM LEGAL STATUS TO SOCIAL RECOGNITION? POST-NATURALIZATION BELONGING AMONG HOLDERS OF EXCEPTIONAL CITIZENSHIP IN TÜRKİYE

OpenAlex Turkish

This study examines whether exceptional-route citizenship in Türkiye translates into everyday recognition and belonging, drawing on 24 semi-structured interviews analyzed through abductive reflexive thematic analysis. We propose a four-part typology and identify the key mechanisms shaping how legal status does, or does not, translate into social inclusion. Our findings show that naturalization consistently improves mobility, security, and formal rights, but social recognition remains uneven. Investor-route citizens often experience smoother formal treatment but limited local embeddedness, whereas selectively naturalized humanitarian-route citizens face more stigma and gatekeeping but may achieve deeper attachment when supported by bridging networks and language proficiency. Responding to Türkiye-specific public debates around Syrian naturalization and citizenship-by-investment, the study also shows how public contestation mediates post-status recognition. The study argues that naturalization is not an automatic endpoint, but a conditional transformation shaped by relational, institutional, and discursive mechanisms. The typology and proposed mechanisms offer an analytically grounded framework for interpreting post-status inclusion in hybrid migration regimes.