The permanent settlement of immigrants of foreignorigin, and the subsequent formation of the second and thirdgenerations, has long contributed to re-launching the debate onthe content and limits of the institution of citizenship, bringinginto question the close connection with the national States. The increasing number and the growing diversity of the legal statusof foreigners residing in the territory of sovereign States blurs thedividing lines between insiders and outsiders. Therefore this raisesquestions about the criteria and ways of participation of residents inthe community of citizens, with all the obligations and benefi ts thatderive from it. In parallel, various forms of political participationof migrants across borders are developing, especially in terms ofthe countries of origin. The article examines the implications andmeanings that derive, in the current context, from what can bedefi ned as transnational reconfi gurations in the democratic sphere. After having considered the citizenship «from above», that is interms of the type of rights granted to foreign residents, their extent,timing and modes of access, the article presents a more recent branch of studies that start «from below», i.e. from the point ofview of actual practices to access and use, reinterpretations andnegotiations of the contents of citizenship: processes in which migrants and refugees take active roles at various levels and indifferent ways, both individual and collective.