Search Results (56)

This paper investigates the settlement experiences of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) [BN(O)] migrants in the UK, with a particular focus on housing as a central mechanism shaping their wellbeing, security, and integration. Following the introduction of the BN(O) visa route in 2021, this study draws on qualitative interviews with migrants in the North of England to explore how housing mediates conditional settlement under a marketised migration regime. Findings reveal that housing functions as the primary infrastructure of settlement, influencing employment, education, and family life, while access is conditioned by migrants’ capacity to absorb market risks such as advance rent payments and landlord discretion. The study highlights significant intra-group stratification shaped by financial resources, family composition, and transnational support, with family responsibilities intensifying housing precarity and constraining choices. Moreover, a moralised ethos of self-reliance among migrants normalises hidden insecurity and limits formal support-seeking. This research contributes to migration and housing scholarship by demonstrating how ostensibly humanitarian migration pathways reproduce uneven security through housing systems, underscoring the need for policy interventions that address the cumulative effects of housing insecurity on settlement and wellbeing. Full article

Since the mid-1980s, many Tamils left their homeland because of the civil war in Sri Lanka (1983–2009) and for other reasons and settled in different countries. More than 40,000 Tamil migrants have come to Switzerland since then, and Tamil is spoken as a heritage language by second- and third-generation speakers who were born and raised in Switzerland. Within this context, it is the aim of the current study to shed light on the difference between Tamil spoken in the first generation (migrant language) and the second generation (heritage language) in the Swiss German and Swiss French parts of Switzerland. We therefore study Tamil, which is part of the Dravidian language family, in different majority language contexts, i.e., a Germanic language and a Romance language, respectively. While some research on Tamil in a diaspora setting already exists on migrated Tamil communities in Lancaster, California (US), East London (UK) and Toronto (Canada), the focus on Switzerland and contact with German and French has not previously been investigated. The data under investigation, which stems from 20 speakers in total (i.e., 5 first-generation and 5 second-generation speakers from the Swiss German and the Swiss French parts respectively), was collected in 2024 by way of a semi-structured interview based on a sociolinguistic questionnaire and a linguistic test. The data serves as the basis for the intergenerational and typological comparison. The analysis reveals systematic intergenerational differences across several morphosyntactic domains, including agreement, negation pattern, case marking, and subject pro-drop. While first-generation speakers retain greater access to dialect-specific and register-sensitive patterns, second-generation speakers show increased reliance on discourse-pragmatic cues and reduced sensitivity to morphologically encoded distinctions. These findings highlight the role of register, input conditions, and discourse context in shaping heritage Tamil across generations in Switzerland. Full article

Unmitigated communion (UC), the prioritisation of others’ needs over one’s own well-being, is a critical lens for understanding the mental health of female migrants. This qualitative study explores how UC intersects with constructions of strength and vulnerability within this population, particularly amid challenges such as adaptation, discrimination, and gendered roles. Using a feminist participatory methodology, the study was co-produced with 10 migrant women and three professionals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 female migrants from 13 countries, representing diverse languages, cultures, and lengths of stay in the UK. Data were thematically analysed using the Engaging Marginalised Communities by Building Relationships and Knowledge (EMBaRK) framework, which centres lived experience and equitable collaboration. Through this analytic process, three key themes were generated: (1) perceived strength and resilience shaped by societal pressures and internalised self-reliance; (2) gender roles and self-sacrifice, including traditional caregiving expectations and neglect of personal health; and (3) isolation and reluctance to seek support, marked by concealed mental health struggles and stigma. Participants’ narratives revealed shared tensions between resilience and vulnerability. The findings highlight the central role of unmitigated communion in shaping migrant women’s mental health and underscore the need for gender-responsive, culturally informed interventions that support women to balance caregiving with self-care. Full article

The disadvantaged position of racialised minorities in accessing the UK’s social housing sector has been extensively documented in previous research, with evidence dating back to the 1960s. However, the specific challenges encountered by migrants remain under-researched. Further, attention has focused on the agency of migrants rather than the reflexivity which underpins the actions they can take. These gaps limit understanding of the extent to which the impacts of migration on individuals seeking to access the social rented sector can be disentangled from the challenges associated with racial disadvantage. They also limit understanding of the nature of migrant reflexivity. To address these omissions, we employed a critical realist framework informed by a literature review to analyse qualitative data generated from a subset of fifteen individuals from a wider sample of a hundred racialised minorities living in the UK. Fieldwork was undertaken across four case study areas with high concentrations of racialised minorities: Tower Hamlets (London), Bradford, Manchester, and Glasgow. By exploring participants’ experiences of engaging with the digital allocation system of Choice-Based Lettings (CBL), we highlight the role of migration-related factors in determining access to social housing through online systems, including country of origin, age at migration, length of stay and education in the UK, employment trajectories, proficiency in English and familiarity with digital systems. We also reveal three components of migrant reflexivity: emotional, communal and strategic. We conclude that attention to reflexivity increases understanding of the distinctive engagement of migrants with CBL systems compared to other racialised minorities. Full article

Migration is as old as human history. Over the centuries, there was never a time when migration stopped. The nineteenth century was characterised by the migration of Europeans to Africa. These movements were attributed to colonisation, commerce, and Christianisation. Christianity was used as a conduit of colonisation and the deculturation of the recipients of the missionary gospel. At the turn of the twenty-first century, there was a significant influx of Africans migrating to Europe. Among these migrants were worshippers from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (WMCZ). Using a missiological framework, this paper employs a qualitative research methodology to argue that the establishment of the WMCZ Fellowship, grounded in the mission and ecclesiology of the home church in the United Kingdom, is both a reverse and distant mission. To achieve this aim, this paper unpacks the methodology and the theoretical framework. It will also trace the development of the WMCZ in the United Kingdom (UK), discuss the hybridisation of Christianity, and justify the notion that the Fellowship is both a reverse and distant mission. The study makes recommendations that support the growth of the Fellowship. It concludes by arguing that the development of migrant churches in the UK can turn the MCB into a church with a white history, a black/multiracial face, and a white head that will eventually use a multiracial mind to survive in a white historical ecclesiology. Full article

Historically, the number of United Kingdom (UK) emigrants has exceeded the number of immigrants, but this trend began to change in the early 1970s. The UK government has been enforcing strict immigration controls to reduce the number of immigrants, especially asylum seekers. The country even left the European Union to better control its borders and consider new arrivals based on their skills. However, despite tighter immigration policies, long-term international migration to the UK has continued to grow. The ongoing, and to some extent gendered and racialised, migration fix has not provided a sustainable solution for the country. Instead, it has increased the vulnerability and anxiety of refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants. Informed by a scoping review and the concept migration fix, this article examines UK immigration policies since World War II. This article is important for understanding the migration fix in UK immigration and asylum policies and their effects on asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants. Full article

This paper argues for a reconceptualisation of migrant work as a critical site for negotiating borders and belonging, focusing on highly skilled Syrian migrants in the UK, a group often overlooked in migration scholarship. Through 17 narrative conversations, the study examines how borders are embodied, negotiated, carried and crossed in the everyday professional lives of this group. Grounded in affect and bordering theories and guided by a decolonial methodology, the study explores how these professionals navigate racial, political and social hierarchies within the UK’s socio-political context. Our study asks: What does it mean to cross a border when mobility gives way to emplacement? How do borders persist within racialised migrant bodies as they navigate work and belonging? Findings highlight the affective dimensions of migrant work, revealing tensions between imposed identities and the agency to redefine the self beyond victimhood. Work functions as both an anchor and a contested terrain where identities are negotiated, transformed, and, at times, placed at risk. As the first study of its kind on highly skilled Syrian migrants in the UK, this research contributes to migration scholarship by foregrounding work as a critical space where selfhoods are actively negotiated, with significant implications for migration scholarship and the politics of identity and belonging. Full article

Background: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) face significant health disparities and systemic barriers to healthcare, elevating their risk for cancer and other chronic diseases. To tackle PEHs’ challenges in accessing cancer preventive care, the CANCERLESS project implemented the Health Navigator Model (HNM)—a person-centered intervention that utilizes trained Health Navigators to provide tailored support and facilitate service access. Recognizing housing as a key determinant of health, this analysis assessed changes in housing status associated with participation in the HNM among CANCERLESS participants in Austria, Greece, Spain, and the UK. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of cross-national data collected during a single-arm interventional study. Of 652 enrolled PEH, 277 (42.5%) completed the HNM intervention follow-up and were included in the analysis. Changes in housing status from baseline to follow-up were categorized using the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS) and treated as an ordered outcome. Descriptive statistics were complemented by a cumulative link mixed model with a participant random intercept to estimate the association between time (follow-up vs. baseline) and housing transitions among completers, adjusting for age, residence/legal status, and daily smoking. Results: Participants had a mean age of 47.4 (SD 13.8), primarily identified as male (64.1%), reported upper secondary education (33.9%), and were from Western European countries (39.7%), with varying housing situations. Among intervention completers, time (follow-up vs. baseline) was associated with higher odds of being in a higher ETHOS category (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.02–2.20, p = 0.042), consistent with a modest improvement in housing status. Larger estimates were observed among migrants without legal documents (OR = 24.13, 95% CI = 6.41–90.89, p < 0.001), while daily smoking was associated with lower odds (OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.11–0.96, p = 0.041); other residence status categories were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Suggesting that tailored, navigation-based models, such as the HNM, may be linked to improved housing stability for PEH, these findings can inform piloting and context-aligned integration of the HNM within public health strategies as an alternative approach to address the complex, interconnected health and social needs of PEH. However, the lack of a comparison group and high attrition limit the results’ conclusiveness, and future evaluations should aim to include assessments of housing-associated contextual factors. Full article

This study explores how older Chinese migrants in London engage with climate change discourse using participatory co-design workshops. Although already practising sustainability behaviours such as recycling, this group faces significant barriers—particularly language difficulties and cultural differences—that limit their active participation in broader climate initiatives. The research addresses three key aspects: (1) identifying opportunities for sustainable practices within migrants’ daily routines; (2) understanding their influential roles within families and communities; and (3) examining their trusted sources and preferred channels for climate communication. Results highlight that family and community networks, combined with digital platforms (e.g., WeChat) and visually engaging materials, play essential roles in disseminating climate information. Participants expressed strong motivations rooted in intergenerational responsibility and economic benefits. The findings emphasise the necessity of inclusive and peer-led communication strategies that are attuned to older migrants’ linguistic preferences, media habits, and cultural values—underscoring their significant but often overlooked potential to meaningfully contribute to climate action. Full article

Utilising Arendt’s ‘right to have rights’ thesis not only as an observation on citizenship but as an intrinsic eligibility and political opportunity for the stateless, this paper outlines how the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and Illegal Migration Act 2023 do not merely continue the general trend of criminalising migrants but take the further step of socially distancing the securitised migrant object. The recent legislation provides that those who arrive in the UK via ‘irregular means’ (i.e., small boats) will likely have their asylum claims deemed ‘inadmissible’. The lack of a ‘negotiated settlement’ in the asylum complex has been well noted; however, the systematic prejudgement and consequent bureaucratic social distancing inherent in the new legislation now threatens to remove even the prospect of negotiation. The means of arrival instantly proving decisive precludes the possibility for asylum seekers to present evidence that they are genuine refugees, and, with it, the politico-legal space and opportunity for the ‘irregular’ person to generally make themselves seen and heard is maliciously obstructed. The result is not just the denial of humanity and concomitant human dues (rights), but a distinct move towards denial of even the possibility of humanity (the right to have rights). Such works to distance system administrators from issues of vulnerability, assuredly direful consequences, and humanness itself, as is essential for the expansion of a system where basic human rights are so lacking. Full article

This article offers a critical methodological reflection on the use of poetry workshops in migration research, positioning them as empowering, ethically complex, yet powerful research tools for studying migrant experience. While arts-based methods have gained momentum, their application often lacks critical reflexivity regarding their benefits, challenges, and interdisciplinary potential. Drawing on implementing and designing over 50 poetry workshops facilitated by the author across Bosnian/Yugoslav, U.S., and U.K. diaspora contexts, this paper employs an autoethnographic and participatory lens to explore the workshops’ dual role as sites of empowerment and tools for epistemic transformation. Beyond examining their use in participatory action research (PAR), the paper highlights how poetry workshops can serve as interdisciplinary research tools that capture not only emotional and narrative dimensions of displacement but also spatial and material aspects of migrant experience. In doing so, the paper contributes to a broader rethinking of qualitative migration research by integrating methods from the social-oriented to spatial-oriented disciplines. Ultimately, it calls for a shift from viewing poetry as an extractive technique to embracing it as a reflexive, practical research method, capable of producing richly layered, interdisciplinary knowledge about transnational migrant lives. Full article

This study employs walking interviews to examine the low-carbon practices, cultural adaptation, and policy awareness of older Chinese migrants in the UK within their everyday environments. A total of 20 participants were interviewed in public spaces such as parks, supermarkets, and their homes. Using contextual thematic analysis, the study identifies key factors influencing their environmental behaviors. The findings reveal the following: (1) Language barriers, economic pressures, and social isolation limit migrants’ understanding of environmental policies. Many participants rely on self-sufficient ethnic community networks rather than engaging with mainstream sources; (2) Generational differences are evident—younger migrants demonstrate greater theoretical awareness of environmental policies, whereas older migrants exhibit stronger low-carbon behaviors through energy conservation and waste reduction; (3) A balance between cultural identity and consumption habits—while some migrants adjust their dietary, spending, and linguistic habits, core cultural values such as frugality and family responsibility remain unchanged. This study highlights the value of walking interviews in capturing situational insights into low-carbon behaviors and cultural adaptation. It provides empirical evidence for government agencies and community organizations, advocating for cross-cultural environmental education and improved policy communication. Recommendations include targeted environmental training, community-based volunteer initiatives, intergenerational environmental education, and policy dissemination through WeChat, Chinese communities, and ethnic networks. These measures can help bridge the generational gap in policy awareness and promote social integration among older Chinese migrants. Full article

This paper explores the challenges of measuring and classifying the East African Asian population in Aotearoa New Zealand. As a particularly diverse country, New Zealand has a significant and varied population of immigrants from South Asia, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, along with immigrants of South Asian origin, from Fiji, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and East Africa. New Zealand’s system of ethnic classification relies on self-identification, with a broad definition of ethnicity encompassing heritage, ancestry, culture, language and feelings of belonging. However, the collection of this information at a granularity that enables detailed analysis is constrained for the South Asian population, regardless of origin or identification. People are typically presented with the choice of selecting “Indian” ethnicity as a tick box, or providing ethnicities under “Other” as write-in descriptors, which in turn are coded to a limited set of categories within the classification being used. This practice potentially conceals a diversity of ethnicities, which can only partially be hinted at by responses to questions relating to religions, languages and birthplaces, especially for second or third-generation descendants of migrants. Ethnic classification at the highest level, moreover, includes East African Indians as Asian, rather than African, reflecting diasporic heritage as a shorthand for ancestry and overlooking the relevance of layers of identity associated with the double diaspora. Drawing on Peter J. Aspinall’s work on collective terminology in ethnic data collection and categorizing the “Asian” ethnic group in the UK, this paper looks at the overlaps and disconnects between heritage, ethnicity and national belonging in classifying less clearcut identities. We explore the strengths and limitations of New Zealand’s self-identification approach to ethnic identity, and query what exactly is being asked of groups on the margins: when self-identification does not match external perception, are we looking for geographic, cultural, or genetic origins? A focus on the East African Asian population in Aotearoa highlights the complexity of identity for diasporic groups with distant ancestral links with India, as lived experience of cultural connection extends far beyond the bounds of ethnicity, language and even ancestry. Full article

Since the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011, millions of Syrians have sought refuge globally, with thousands resettling in the UK. Despite their displacement, Syrians have brought with them a rich array of inherited knowledge and traditions, collectively known as intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The construction of domestic spaces by these settlers and their struggle to feel at home have emerged as important topics in migration studies, particularly when housing issues are considered as a critical aspect of their transcultural social engagement and the evolving boundaries of their identity and belonging. However, the role of ICH, along with the related crafts and movable objects, in the home-making practices of forced migrants remains under-researched. This gap is especially significant given that the UK recently ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the safeguarding of ICH after a decade-long delay. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted in the interviewees’ native Arabic within their home environments and supported by an observational study, this research explores how resettled Syrians in Liverpool integrate traditional ICH practices into their new homes, focusing on the dynamic relationship between the intangible and built heritage. By examining how intangible knowledge and movable objects interplay in creating a ‘Syrian home’, this study contributes to discussions on community engagement and the role of memory in conservation. The findings underscore the importance of ICH in maintaining cultural continuity and identity in the diaspora, providing insights into the inclusive heritage conservation practices in migrant contexts. This research highlights two key insights: first, the essential role that ICH, along with the associated crafts and movable objects, plays in constructing new homes in the diaspora, particularly in how these items serve as the carriers of cultural identity and continuity; and second, the symbolic significance of Syrian homes, especially their interior designs and decorations, as reflections of a blend of sociocultural practices that Syrians are committed to preserving. Full article

This study explores the impact of Industry 5.0 on discriminatory behaviors toward migrant employees within organizations. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with 15 migrant workers in the UK, this research identifies key challenges faced by migrant employees amidst the integration of advanced technologies like AI and robotics in HRM systems. Thematic analysis reveals that while Industry 5.0 has the potential to mitigate human biases, it can also perpetuate existing prejudices if not managed effectively. This study highlights two main themes: the experiences of discrimination and challenges in the context of Industry 5.0, and the role of technology in HRM systems. The findings indicate that automated HR systems can both reduce and increase biases, highlighting the importance of inclusive practices and targeted support programs to help migrant workers adapt to a technologically advanced labor market. This research contributes to the literature by providing insights into the duality of technological advancements in reducing and reinforcing workplace discrimination. Full article