Program
Lecture 1: International migration
Lecture 2: Immigration and policy
Lecture 3: Socio-economic integration
Lecture 4: Integration policies (macro level)
Lecture 5: Social-cultural integration
Lecture 6: Transnationalism among immigrants
Lecture 7: Migrants and (mental) health
Lecture 1: International migration (Definitions, types,
trends and theories)
1. Definitions
Definition international migration
- “… those movements across international boundaries which constitute a change of
residence…” (UN)
- For purpose of international comparison permanent and long-term immigrants should
include both citizen and foreign nationals intending to stay for more than one year
- International Organisation of Migration (IOM) defines immigration as a process by which
non-nationals move into a country for the purpose of settlement.
(see for definitions of key terms in the field of migration: https://www.iom.int/key-migration-
terms#Migrant)
Various types of immigrants
- Main types under the umbrella term “migrants”.
➢ Labour migrants “Guestworkers”, high-versus low-skilled
➢ Family migrants Family reunion and formation
➢ Refugees Asylum seekers, status holders, rejected asylum seekers; UN
Refugees
➢ International students
Migrants, Refugees and Asylum seekers
Why do people migrate? - YouTube
- People migrate, because: Conflict, political insecurity, economic insecurity (mixed of these
factors)
- Most refugees don’t come straight to Europe, they first stay in the region, but this land of
asylum doesn’t offer work, or the title/rights of asylum.
- It is not because of the jobs why they come to Europe, but the promises of Human Rights.
- What migrants think is lands like British, French and Americans has helped me in my own
country, so they will also help me when I come to those lands. When they arrive, they got
cold shoulders -> tensions (between refugee groups).
- Why to which country: Mouth to mouth propaganda (heard that people arrived safely).
- Root causes linked and intertwined.
,Refugees and Asylum seekers
- Refugees: fleeing their home country to save their lives and who have been accepted and
recognised as such in their host country (e.g., “former asylum seekers”, “relocated UN
refugees”)
- Asylum seekers are people who make a formal request for asylum in another country
because they fear their life is at risk in their country of origin
- 1951 UN Convention: refugee: a person outside his or her country and “owing to well-
founded fear of being persecuted for reason of race, religion, nationality or political opinion”
- 2016 New York Declaration for refugees and migrants (important to distinguish “refugees”
from “migrants”)
Various dichotomies in labelling immigrants
- Voluntary vs forced migrants (due to threats of life, war, natural disasters)
- Self-supported vs smuggled
- Documented vs undocumented (or unauthorised)
- Orderly vs irregular (or illegal)
- Example: documented illegal immigrants? Someone of a non-European country must apply
for a visa. But when a visa expires and stays in the Netherlands illegally.
Concerns labelling/use of types/dichotomies
- Different definitions/interpretations in different countries
- Labels don’t fit complex (changing) realities (e.g., same person may be classified as a refugee
and family or labour migrant)
- Some labels/types have a negative connotation in some context (which may hinder
integration and disacknowledge individual characteristics) (see e.g., Crawley & Skleparis,
2017; https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1348224)
From various countries of origin
- Nowadays immigrants form many different countries of origin (c_o) in many countries of
destination (c_d)
- More diversity in terms of nationalities, ethnic groups, cultures, religious denominations
- And differences in time of arrival: some immigrant groups have a relatively longer history in
c_d due to some special circumstances such as decolonisation, war, recruitment of guest
workers and international treaties (e.g., EU)
- What were/are main migration routes?
2. Trends in Migration
Migration routes in the 18th century
- Europe: negative net migration: emigration > immigration
,Migration routes at the beginning of the 21st
- Lot of migration to Europe, migration in continents
- Europe: immigration (positive net migration: immigration>emigration)
Migration routes of refugees to Europe in 2015
Trend in flow of migrant types in the NL
- Motive differs per year; having a family member already in the country is the biggest reason.
Actual trends in migration to the NL since 2000
- Family migration is the main type in numerical terms
- Asylum migration volume fluctuated considerably:
➢ Reduced to less than one third between 2000 and 2009;
➢ Increased to all time record in 2014 and 2015 (in 2016: 50% decrease)
- Strong increase in labour migration (mainly from EU, e.g. , Poles, Germans)
- Strong increase in international students (mainly from EU, e.g. Germans)
, Migration data
Different ways of collecting data:
- Population registers [OECD, EUROSTAT (EU)]
- Administrative sources (visas, residence permits)
- Border controls (entry and departure)
- Household surveys (e.g. census, smaller scale surveys)
- Interview
Main migration data sources
- IOM: https://www.iom.int/
- IOM data portal: https://migrationdataportal.org/data?i=stock_abs_&t=2019
- OECD, data base on immigrants in OECD countries:
- http://www.oecd.org/els/mig/oecdmigrationdatabases.htm
- UNHCR, database on refugees: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
- Eurostat (EU): http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
- CBS (NL); Statline: population: https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/en/ Nl.: “persons with
a migration background” (i.e. first and second generation”) vs persons with a Dutch
background)
Migration data limitations and concerns
- Sometimes difficult to compare stocks or flow across countries: different definitions (e.g.,
foreign- born and foreign nations), way of data-collection (e.g., census and registration data)
Stock = people who live in the Netherlands who have a migration background
Number of migrants of a certain group present in country at a given year
Flow = the number of migrants crossing a boundary, within a specific time period
Number of migrants of a certain group who have travelled to a destination country in
a given year
➢ Much higher stock than flow
➢ Differences between stock & flow may be related to characteristics of migrants groups,
characteristics of origin countries, or a combination of both.
- Illegal/irregular immigrants are not included in official data sources (in some cases based on
estimations). Because they aren’t documented
- Mainly “western” countries (OECD) collect migration data in a systematic way (allowing
cross-national comparisons)
- Only a few (comparative) survey studies focus on explanatory factors. These studies often
measure intention to migrate and not actual migration (these are not necessarily correlation:
why not?) - It is difficult to ask where they are going and how the new situation is
3. Theories on migration patterns
Migration theories
Explanations at different levels of analysis:
- Micro: characteristics of individuals
- Meso: characteristics of migrant networks or households
- Macro: characteristics countries (push factors in c_o; pull-factors in c_d)
Lecture 1: International migration
Lecture 2: Immigration and policy
Lecture 3: Socio-economic integration
Lecture 4: Integration policies (macro level)
Lecture 5: Social-cultural integration
Lecture 6: Transnationalism among immigrants
Lecture 7: Migrants and (mental) health
Lecture 1: International migration (Definitions, types,
trends and theories)
1. Definitions
Definition international migration
- “… those movements across international boundaries which constitute a change of
residence…” (UN)
- For purpose of international comparison permanent and long-term immigrants should
include both citizen and foreign nationals intending to stay for more than one year
- International Organisation of Migration (IOM) defines immigration as a process by which
non-nationals move into a country for the purpose of settlement.
(see for definitions of key terms in the field of migration: https://www.iom.int/key-migration-
terms#Migrant)
Various types of immigrants
- Main types under the umbrella term “migrants”.
➢ Labour migrants “Guestworkers”, high-versus low-skilled
➢ Family migrants Family reunion and formation
➢ Refugees Asylum seekers, status holders, rejected asylum seekers; UN
Refugees
➢ International students
Migrants, Refugees and Asylum seekers
Why do people migrate? - YouTube
- People migrate, because: Conflict, political insecurity, economic insecurity (mixed of these
factors)
- Most refugees don’t come straight to Europe, they first stay in the region, but this land of
asylum doesn’t offer work, or the title/rights of asylum.
- It is not because of the jobs why they come to Europe, but the promises of Human Rights.
- What migrants think is lands like British, French and Americans has helped me in my own
country, so they will also help me when I come to those lands. When they arrive, they got
cold shoulders -> tensions (between refugee groups).
- Why to which country: Mouth to mouth propaganda (heard that people arrived safely).
- Root causes linked and intertwined.
,Refugees and Asylum seekers
- Refugees: fleeing their home country to save their lives and who have been accepted and
recognised as such in their host country (e.g., “former asylum seekers”, “relocated UN
refugees”)
- Asylum seekers are people who make a formal request for asylum in another country
because they fear their life is at risk in their country of origin
- 1951 UN Convention: refugee: a person outside his or her country and “owing to well-
founded fear of being persecuted for reason of race, religion, nationality or political opinion”
- 2016 New York Declaration for refugees and migrants (important to distinguish “refugees”
from “migrants”)
Various dichotomies in labelling immigrants
- Voluntary vs forced migrants (due to threats of life, war, natural disasters)
- Self-supported vs smuggled
- Documented vs undocumented (or unauthorised)
- Orderly vs irregular (or illegal)
- Example: documented illegal immigrants? Someone of a non-European country must apply
for a visa. But when a visa expires and stays in the Netherlands illegally.
Concerns labelling/use of types/dichotomies
- Different definitions/interpretations in different countries
- Labels don’t fit complex (changing) realities (e.g., same person may be classified as a refugee
and family or labour migrant)
- Some labels/types have a negative connotation in some context (which may hinder
integration and disacknowledge individual characteristics) (see e.g., Crawley & Skleparis,
2017; https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1348224)
From various countries of origin
- Nowadays immigrants form many different countries of origin (c_o) in many countries of
destination (c_d)
- More diversity in terms of nationalities, ethnic groups, cultures, religious denominations
- And differences in time of arrival: some immigrant groups have a relatively longer history in
c_d due to some special circumstances such as decolonisation, war, recruitment of guest
workers and international treaties (e.g., EU)
- What were/are main migration routes?
2. Trends in Migration
Migration routes in the 18th century
- Europe: negative net migration: emigration > immigration
,Migration routes at the beginning of the 21st
- Lot of migration to Europe, migration in continents
- Europe: immigration (positive net migration: immigration>emigration)
Migration routes of refugees to Europe in 2015
Trend in flow of migrant types in the NL
- Motive differs per year; having a family member already in the country is the biggest reason.
Actual trends in migration to the NL since 2000
- Family migration is the main type in numerical terms
- Asylum migration volume fluctuated considerably:
➢ Reduced to less than one third between 2000 and 2009;
➢ Increased to all time record in 2014 and 2015 (in 2016: 50% decrease)
- Strong increase in labour migration (mainly from EU, e.g. , Poles, Germans)
- Strong increase in international students (mainly from EU, e.g. Germans)
, Migration data
Different ways of collecting data:
- Population registers [OECD, EUROSTAT (EU)]
- Administrative sources (visas, residence permits)
- Border controls (entry and departure)
- Household surveys (e.g. census, smaller scale surveys)
- Interview
Main migration data sources
- IOM: https://www.iom.int/
- IOM data portal: https://migrationdataportal.org/data?i=stock_abs_&t=2019
- OECD, data base on immigrants in OECD countries:
- http://www.oecd.org/els/mig/oecdmigrationdatabases.htm
- UNHCR, database on refugees: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
- Eurostat (EU): http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
- CBS (NL); Statline: population: https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/en/ Nl.: “persons with
a migration background” (i.e. first and second generation”) vs persons with a Dutch
background)
Migration data limitations and concerns
- Sometimes difficult to compare stocks or flow across countries: different definitions (e.g.,
foreign- born and foreign nations), way of data-collection (e.g., census and registration data)
Stock = people who live in the Netherlands who have a migration background
Number of migrants of a certain group present in country at a given year
Flow = the number of migrants crossing a boundary, within a specific time period
Number of migrants of a certain group who have travelled to a destination country in
a given year
➢ Much higher stock than flow
➢ Differences between stock & flow may be related to characteristics of migrants groups,
characteristics of origin countries, or a combination of both.
- Illegal/irregular immigrants are not included in official data sources (in some cases based on
estimations). Because they aren’t documented
- Mainly “western” countries (OECD) collect migration data in a systematic way (allowing
cross-national comparisons)
- Only a few (comparative) survey studies focus on explanatory factors. These studies often
measure intention to migrate and not actual migration (these are not necessarily correlation:
why not?) - It is difficult to ask where they are going and how the new situation is
3. Theories on migration patterns
Migration theories
Explanations at different levels of analysis:
- Micro: characteristics of individuals
- Meso: characteristics of migrant networks or households
- Macro: characteristics countries (push factors in c_o; pull-factors in c_d)
