Practices of facilitating travel & migration

The planned study aims at the investigation of the phenomenon what is known as marriage migration (also called transnational marriage) to Germany by male Muslim migrants. By means of biographical narrative interviews with male migrants from North Africa and Turkey, the research project aims at dealing with the multidimensional and multifaceted character of male marriage migration to Germany. The subject male marriage migration can be approached from different perspectives and related aspects. In the frame of this research project, through a sampling which consists of married couples composed of a male migrant from one of the countries mentioned above and a female descendant of a migrant family with a residence permit in Germany, we want to consider this issue in all its complexity and implications regarding the debates on integration of the migrants, integration of male migrants into the labour market, gender relations and dynamics within the migrant family, and (un) chancing conceptions and visions of manhood in migration processes and the contestation/ negotiation of migrant masculinities. Regarding the studies of the last years it is noteworthy that all marriage migration studies are rather focussing on women as migrating subjects. Although it is noticed, too, that there are men as well migrating to their wives, there is no study focussing exclusively on migrating men in context of marriage. This fact may be - especially in Germany - an expression of the emotional public discussion concerning forced marriages. Nevertheless, the marriage migration of men is the desideratum of past and current marriage migration studies. This gap will be filled with the following research proposal. Our hypothesis is that women of the second or third generation of migrant families might be hoping for a realistic chance of founding a family and bringing up children through marrying a partner from the country of origin while they continue to work and remain the bread winners in the country of immigration and thus strengthen their autonomy (while their husbands are waiting for working permits and/or job opportunities and meanwhile have to take over care obligations within the family). In general, we want to show that male marriage migration can be seen both as "cause and the effect" of changing gender orders.

In recent years there has been an astronomical growth in the numbers of Indian students studying at UK universities. This paper situates this increase in relation to global and historical developments: the development of internationalization in education, liberalization in the economies of India and the UK as well as the centuries-old relationship between the two countries. Statistical data is examined in order to develop a picture of this group, followed by the results of a qualitative study which examined the motivations and experiences of Indian students currently studying, or who have recently finished their studies in the UK. The results speak to Bourdieu’s (1984) theories of cultural capital and illustrate that student migrants do not go to the UK just for study, but that they often have larger expectations from the trip, entwined with their own personal long term strategies. Finally, the data is used to critique current UK policy with regards to the student visa system.

Since 2007, the number of refugees fleeing conflict and violence has doubled to about 25 million. Mass migration has destabilized the European Union, lead to broad changes in national immigration policies, and triggered the resurgence of far right, xenophobic political parties. Yet little is known about how illicit human smuggling institutions may be driving migration and the subsequent political changes. We leverage granular data on migrant flows across the Mediterranean, coupled with information about sea routes, riots at port cities, and wave conditions, to conduct two studies. We find substantial evidence that migrant flows respond to political and environmental risks as well as a government-led counter-smuggling intervention. These findings clarify drivers of migration and suggest actions that can be taken to mitigate human smuggling.

Project description: The aim of this doctoral research is to explore contemporary migration and remittance sending behaviors and their impacts on socio-professional integration of migrants from Pakistan and India in Finland and Sweden. The research assumes that distinct groups of migrants carry dissimilar cultural obligations upon migration, which emphasizes the need to compare migrants from different places of origin. As for the integration process, it is argued that acquiring a job to earn and send money back home promotes initial integration but minimizes consumption and the search for support from various compatriots tends to weaken the integration process in the long run. Migrants pushed by stronger obligations to remit spend a fairly longer time doing odd jobs than those with mild compulsions. Not pushed to work longer hours in unskilled jobs, the latter can dedicate more time to finishing their University degrees, learning the language, and eventually turn out to become an entrepreneur or acquire a professional job. The empirical data collection entails participant observations and semi-structured interviews in Malmö and Stockholm in Sweden and Helsinki and Turku in Finland. The primary foci of this research are those migrants who entered on a student visa. This multidisciplinary research addresses an understudied aspect of migrant behaviour, both in Finland and in neighbouring Sweden, namely the relationship between remittance sending and migrant integration. The study asks, who really benefits from migration. Is it the migrant himself/herself or the relatives of the migrant back home who receive the bulk of remittances? The research fills theoretical and empirical gaps regarding different migrant groups' behaviour in remittance vs. integration.

Saudi Arabia is a prime destination and source of remittances from workers for many countries in Asia and the Arab world. As of mid-2013, expatriates made up 32 percent of the Kingdom's population, most of them coming from South Asia. They accounted for 56.5 percent of the employed population and 89 percent of the private sector workforce. Since September 2011, and in spite of a spurt in foreign labour recruitment starting in the mid-2000s, a voluntary policy called Nitaqat aims at 'Saudising' the Kingdom's workforce. The most recent data also show the scale of the irregular migration phenomenon in Saudi Arabia: the amnesty campaign which started in April 2013 allowed 4.7 million foreign workers to regularise their status, while an ongoing crackdown on illegals forced one million to leave the Kingdom in 2013 alone, of which (as of November 30, 2013) 547,000 were deported.

The issue of combat against human trafficking is very pressing for Ukraine, just like for most postSoviet countries. As it is indicated in the Migration Profile of Ukraine compiled in 2011 by Ukrainian migration experts based on research and on statistical data provided by Ukrainian national authorities and international specialists in the field of migration, Ukraine is primarily a state of origin for human trafficking victims1. Ukraine is also a country of transit for foreigners who became human trafficking or smuggling victims on their way to other countries, primarily Turkey or United Arab Emirates, from Moldova, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.The issue of combat against human trafficking is very pressing for Ukraine, just like for most postSoviet countries. As it is indicated in the Migration Profile of Ukraine compiled in 2011 by Ukrainian migration experts based on research and on statistical data provided by Ukrainian national authorities and international specialists in the field of migration, Ukraine is primarily a state of origin for human trafficking victims1. Ukraine is also a country of transit for foreigners who became human trafficking or smuggling victims on their way to other countries, primarily Turkey or United Arab Emirates, from Moldova, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.The issue of combat against human trafficking is very pressing for Ukraine, just like for most postSoviet countries. As it is indicated in the Migration Profile of Ukraine compiled in 2011 by Ukrainian migration experts based on research and on statistical data provided by Ukrainian national authorities and international specialists in the field of migration, Ukraine is primarily a state of origin for human trafficking victims1. Ukraine is also a country of transit for foreigners who became human trafficking or smuggling victims on their way to other countries, primarily Turkey or United Arab Emirates, from Moldova, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.The issue of combat against human trafficking is very pressing for Ukraine, just like for most postSoviet countries. As it is indicated in the Migration Profile of Ukraine compiled in 2011 by Ukrainian migration experts based on research and on statistical data provided by Ukrainian national authorities and international specialists in the field of migration, Ukraine is primarily a state of origin for human trafficking victims1. Ukraine is also a country of transit for foreigners who became human trafficking or smuggling victims on their way to other countries, primarily Turkey or United Arab Emirates, from Moldova, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.The issue of combat against human trafficking is very pressing for Ukraine, just like for most postSoviet countries. As it is indicated in the Migration Profile of Ukraine compiled in 2011 by Ukrainian migration experts based on research and on statistical data provided by Ukrainian national authorities and international specialists in the field of migration, Ukraine is primarily a state of origin for human trafficking victims1. Ukraine is also a country of transit for foreigners who became human trafficking or smuggling victims on their way to other countries, primarily Turkey or United Arab Emirates, from Moldova, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

The present document constitutes an overview of the facilitation of irregular migration on the US Mexico border from a human rights perspective. The result of an NGO-academic partnership, it specifically outlines the contexts and challenges faced by boys, girls and adolescents who work in the migrant smuggling market in the Ciudad Juárez-El Paso corridor.

The paper addresses the historical and institutional background of labour management policies in Saudi Arabia. It envisages it as a long-term, structural impediment to the successful and rapid implementation of Saudization (localisation) of the labour force in the Kingdom. The paper thus emphasises the socio-political stakes and challenges to localisation of the labour force and, more generally, economic and labour reform in the Gulf States. Since the onset of the Arab uprisings, however, unemployment among Saudis, and especially women, has become a burning political issue. Governmental actors had no choice but to attempt to regain control over the economy and the management of the labour market. In September 2011, in spite of a spurt in foreign labour recruitment since the mid-2000s, a voluntary policy called “Nitaqat” aiming to “Saudize” the Kingdom’s workforce was enacted. This paper reviews its characteristics and points to its all-encompassing design as it addresses the socio-political context of Saudization and therefore is more likely to have a lasting effect than previous workforce localisation initiatives.