ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between refugee status and institutional forms of political membership. It looks at international law provisions regarding naturalization and citizenship as the main gateways to political membership, which end refugee status. Moreover, the chapter describes the conditions of refugees’ voting rights, both in the state of origin and in the state of residence. States follow different models regarding the right to vote, some basing it on nationality, some basing it on permanent presence, some requiring a combination of both. The case of refugees can in that sense inform the debate about resident voting rights. Finally, the chapter considers forms of special representation such as non-citizen residents councils. While those forms cannot replace the eventual access to political membership, they can be viable mechanisms for including the voices of non-citizens in general and of refugees in particular.
