Acknowledgements a number of them are part of my PhD committee and thankful for the time they have invested in this. I also want to express my gratitude to Chris, Katja, Marlotte and Tamás for the terrific collaboration over the years and I look forward to new opportunities to work together in the future. Special words of thanks go out to my paranymphs: Alice and Sangita. Alice, you and I have had some great adventures, starting already when we were students in the Top Class! And Sangita, you and I worked together on the first bit of in-depth research I did on statelessness in the Netherlands and it has been great having you as a roommate at the office. You both have been part of my PhD journey since the beginning and I have been able to lean on you both for discussions about my research and the overall trajectory, as well as for fun distraction from it all. Thank you so much! Many other friends have also been an incredibly supportive and have offered a sometimes much-needed break from the research and work. A big shout-out especially to Lotte, all the ladies of ‘het Tilburgs vriendinnenclubje’, Joeri (and JAM as a whole of course!), Ilona and Roderick. I anticipate many more spectacular dinners, lunches, walks in the park, music quizzes, weekend trips, board games, ballet and theater visits, cat showdowns, boat rides, shopping sessions, barbecues and high wines in the future. My deep and sincere gratitude go to my family for their continuous love, help and support. It has been through them that I was first introduced to nationality questions, inspiring me to pursue this further. I have always enjoyed and continue to look forward to spending a day at ‘de berg’ in Sjlennich with all of you! Finally, there are no words that can describe how much I have depended on my two guys while writing this dissertation. Kees and Loki, I continue to depend on you – you’re simply the best! Caia Vlieks, 3 January 2022 x Intersentia