ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the background to different policies towards various immigrant groups in Germany. Through immigration and nationality laws, different immigrant groups have been ranked into categories in which some groups are regarded as more likely to fit into a society than others. An ethnic hierarchy of migrants has emerged with regard to origin, reflected in legal status, access to the labour market and welfare system. To illustrate the relevance of the idea of the German nation for the formulation of immigration policy, an outline of the specific characteristics of the German nation-state tradition and its implications for the concept of citizenship is presented. Next, the consequences of the concepts of nation and citizenship for policies on immigration are discussed.
