TEMPER Project: the rationale of the Workshop Amparo González-Ferrer International Workshop on Methodological Challenges for the Study of Return and Circular Migration Madrid, January 2015

A bit of history The VII FP Call focused on Temporary & Circular Migration but…  Temporary Programs generally involved small numbers in EU  Many temporary programs were cancelled because of the crisis Are Temporary & Circular Migration Programs a credible option to manage migration to the EU? However, a large number of migrants are actually temporary: many return at some point but…  not clear when and why, who returns soon  not clear who takes longer or never does it  even less clear who remigrates & engages in circular migration

TEMPER as a Compromise Solution: TEMmporary versus PERmanent migration

Objectives (1)to identify the main drivers of return and circulation decisions of migrants recently involved in temporary and permanent migration Return implies Temporary Circulation can affect both temporary & (more) permanent migrants (2) to measure and explain the role that different programs and immigration policies at large have played in shaping those individual decisions (3) to assess the impact that different types of temporary, permanent and circular mobility have for - migrant and non-migrant workers - their families - their employers.

To be tested (1)Is circulation a realistic alternative to both strictly temporary labour and permanent settlement?  Which is the pool of prospective migrants and returnees interested in engaging in circular mobility?  How do they differ from other migrants and non-migrants if they do?  who are temporary & who are permanent migrants?  who become repeated migrants, who do not? why?  what are the differences betw. repeated and circular migration?

To be tested (2)Does circulation benefit the involved parties [migrants, their families & areas of origin] more than traditional forms of migration?  Compare the impact of migration after return for temporary, permanent and circular migrants  Compare the impact of return (net of migration) for temporary, more permanent and circular migrants

Difficulties in the comparative strategy 1.Conceptual: definitions. Clear definitions of temporary, permanent and circular migrations 2.Practical: small numbers. Migrants are rare population, temporary migrants are just a part of them, and circular migrants only a part of a part of them. Same applies to returnees… how to find and study them?

Solving the small numbers’ problem 1.Specific sub-studies devoted to investigate particular groups of temporary and circular migrants:  Seasonal agriculture workers  IT high-skilled workers (intracompany transfers)  International students 2.Specific WP for overall study of returned migrants (temporary, permanent or circular)  Taking representative? surveys in origin countries  Matching Return Surveys with Pre- existing migrants' surveys in destinations

Solving the conceptual problem (1)No standard definition of temporary/ permanent (a) Legal definition based on: legal category of initial admission; the type of permit that the migrant has at a particular moment the possibility to renew & extend, or not, initial/current permit (b) Demographical definition based on duration UN 1998: long-term = at least one year (regardless of legal admission category & intentions of receiving state) (2) No standard definition of circular

(1) Temporary = someone who ever returned to origin - participation in rectuitment program or not - legal admission category - intended length of stay - actual length of stay ---- short vs. long term returned migrant (2) Circular = repeated migration by the same individual to the same destination. A circular migrant is someone who - has spent at least two stays at destination - regardless of where the individual is currently living (origin or destination) - regardless of the length of those stays respecting a minimum of at least 3 months TEMPER will ask both past and current migrants about their actual legal and migration trajectories, as well as their intentions concerning future location decisions. TEMPER’s conceptual decisions

Thank you! NEVER LOOSE YOUR TEMPER

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