This article explores the complex relation between civic identity, individual identificationand citizenship. An in-depth analysis of the life and integration process of three newcomersto the small Brabant town of Lier makes clear how formal statutes and categoriessuch as citizenship might influence the structural integration, but could at the same timebe only loosely connected to informal identifications. Although citizenship was neitherthe proof of nor the condition for an alliance with the town, it nevertheless had a meaning.Establishing temporary trust, it furthered social interaction, which was the breedingground of identity formation. This identity formation was above all a dynamic and neverendingprocess in which time played a crucial but equivocal role.
