Onward Migration and Transnationalism: What Are the Interconnections?

Abstract

This introductory chapter sets the scene for the book. It defines onward migration as a migration trajectory that involves extended stays in two or more destination countries and distinguishes it from competing and overlapping terms like stepwise and transit migration. Onward migration is a growing phenomenon within overall global migration dynamics, although statistics to document the scale and trends of this type of migration are scarce. The main aim of the chapter is to examine how onward migration and transnationalism are connected. This is achieved both by reference to a range of existing literature and by citing evidence from the succeeding chapters in the volume. We demonstrate both how transnationalism can shape onward migration and, the reverse, how different onward migration trajectories may result in different forms of transnationalism. In this latter context, we identify inter-generational, split, widening and re-routed transnationalism, again drawing on examples both from the book and from the wider literature. The final section of the chapter consists of a methodological discussion on the practicalities of researching onward migration and multi-sited transnationalism, in which the technique of multi-sited ethnography is discussed, critiqued and modified.

‘Going to study or plan to stay on?’ Mobility profiles of Angolan and Cape Verdean students in Portugal

“…Among this group of globally mobile , we also find those who came initially to Portugal to complete a degree, returned home and then re‐emigrated to Portugal or to another country to do further studies or to work. Angolan males and Cape Verdean females were the main protagonists of this more complex mobility path which, following recent scholarship on serial and onward migration (Ahrens & King, 2023; Ossman, 2013), we characterise as a kind of circular or sequential mobility.

I first encountered my [Portuguese] university in 2005, I had come to do a brief journalism course … and I fell in love with the university … Later, when I was told to go to Belgium [to qualify], this was somewhat against my will, as I had already experienced and enjoyed the Portuguese university … I arrived [again] in Europe in December 2014; January to July 2015 I was in Ireland to improve my English, which was one of the conditions imposed by the [Portuguese] university … I started my Master's programme [in Portugal], in 2015 … I am currently in Angola and preparing, if all goes well, to start my doctorate [in the same Portuguese university]. (Patricio, Angolan, interviewed in 2017, at the end of his Master's; quote from second interview in 2019)

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The (big) role of family constellations in return migration and transnationalism

“…According to this perspective, migrant realities are made up of complex interactions spanning social, cultural, economic and political spheres that connect migrants to their home societies (Mazzucato and Dito, 2018). In addition, contemporary studies stress the fluidity and non-linearity of migration as an onward process (Ahrens and King, 2022) in which families may play a vital role in maintaining transnational ties. Empirical research demonstrates that migrants experience a variety of post-return mobility in the context of “voluntary” returns, while they themselves are gradually changed by both migration abroad and relocation to the country of origin (Vathi et al , 2022).…”

Syrian refugees arriving in Germany: choice of corridor and individual characteristics of forced migrants

“…Migration trajectories are more complicated and multi-layered than is assumed under traditional approaches (Crawley and Jones, 2021 ; Della Puppa et al, 2021 ; Formenti, 2023 ). We should analyze forced migration trajectories as segmented and fragmented or as a dynamic ongoing process (Della Puppa et al, 2021 ; Ahrens and King, 2023 ).…”

“…By considering the concept of onward migration, scholars have provided a better understanding of the complex and dynamic structure of migration trajectories. Ahrens and King ( 2023 , p. 5) define onward migration as “…a spatial trajectory that involves extended stays in two or more destination countries. Acknowledging that any migrant can be a potential onward (or return) migrant allows for a more open-ended and processual understanding of migration.…”