Assessment of Brazilian Migration Patterns and Assisted Voluntary Return Programme from selected European Member States to Brazil RESEARCH REPORT September 2007- February 2009 1 This publication has been produced with financial support from the RETURN Fund 2006 – Preparatory Actions of the European Commission, DG JLS. The opinions and analyses expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and official policies of the European Union, the International Organization for Migration or its Member States. Unless otherwise stated, whenever the masculine gender is used, both men and women are included. Editor in Chief: Pascal Reyntjens Contribution to this publication: Pedro Góis (Lead Researcher) Pascal Reyntjens (Project Coordinator, IOM Brussels) Annika Lenz (Research Focal Point, IOM Brussels) Christiane Coelho (Research Focal Point, IOM Lisbon) Diana Gouveia (Research Focal Point, IOM Dublin) Publisher: International Organization for Migration Regional Liaison and Coordination Office to the European Union Rue Montoyer 40 1000 Brussels Belgium Tel. +32 2 287 7000 Fax. +32 2 287 7006 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.belgium.iom.int Graphic Design and Printing: IPEX Digital Solutions © Copyright International Organization for Migration, 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the Publisher. 2 Assessment of Brazilian Migration Patterns and Assisted Voluntary Return Programme from selected European Member States to Brazil ______________________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Brazilian Migration Patterns and Assisted Voluntary Return Programme from selected European Member States to Brazil Index Executive summary............................................................................................................. 7 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 11 1. General overview of the report ..................................................................................... 15 2. Social and demographic characteristics of the sample ................................................. 32 3. Migration trajectories and reasons for migration.......................................................... 45 4. Immigration status ........................................................................................................ 55 5. Socio-Economic Patterns.............................................................................................. 58 6. Remittances and other transnational practices.............................................................. 65 7. Long term plans and return needs................................................................................. 66 9. Conclusions................................................................................................................... 75 Authors.............................................................................................................................. 80 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 81 Annexes............................................................................................................................. 86 3 Assessment of Brazilian Migration Patterns and Assisted Voluntary Return Programme from selected European Member States to Brazil ______________________________________________________________________________________ Index of Figures Figure 1: Main Immigration Stamps in Ireland ................................................................ 18 Figure 2: Gender Distribution........................................................................................... 32 Figure 3: Gender Distribution per Country....................................................................... 32 Figure 4: Age Distribution................................................................................................ 33 Figure 5: Marital Status per Country ................................................................................ 34 Figure 6: Immigrants and Offspring per Country (%)...................................................... 35 Figure 7: Children in Ireland versus Brazil (%)................................................................ 36 Figure 8: Children in Portugal versus Brazil (%) ............................................................. 36 Figure 9: Children in Belgium versus Brazil (%) ............................................................. 37 Figure 10: State of Origin of Brazilians in Ireland, Belgium and Portugal ...................... 40 Figure 11: Map of Brazil................................................................................................... 41 Figure 12: Educational Level per Country........................................................................ 43 Figure 13: Year of leaving Brazil (%) .............................................................................. 45 Figure 14: Main Reasons for Leaving Brazil by Country of Residence........................... 46 Figure 15: Main EU Port of entry..................................................................................... 47 Figure 16: Linkages in international migration systems................................................... 50 Figure 17: Planned Length of Migration at Departure...................................................... 53 Figure 18: Frequency of Visits to Brazil (%).................................................................... 55 Figure 19: Migrants in a Regular situation versus Irregular situation (%) ....................... 56 Figure 20: Main difficulties encountered in EU selected countries, in % ........................ 57 Figure 21: Current sector of employment......................................................................... 60 Figure 22: Current sector of employment versus sector of employment in Brazil (Belgium) .......................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 23: Current sector of employment versus sector of employment in Brazil (Ireland) ........................................................................................................................................... 62 Figure 24: Current sector of employment versus sector of employment in Brazil (Portugal)......................................................................................................................... 62 Figure 25: Brazilian immigrants in the Informal economy .............................................. 63 Figure 26: Average monthly remittances, from Portugal, Ireland and Belgium .............. 66 Figure 27: How to use of financial assistance to return to Brazil..................................... 68 Figure 28: Source of Information about IOM’s AVR programmes ................................. 71 4 Assessment of Brazilian Migration Patterns and Assisted Voluntary Return Programme from selected European Member States to Brazil ______________________________________________________________________________________ Foreword In the context of migration management and based on the individual support given by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Brazilian migrants within its different types of activities, it was important to better understand the profile of that particular population. In the context of world wide migration and taking into account the developments of migration policies including labour migration schemes, circular migration, migration and development, and return migration, this research aimed at better defining the profile of the Brazilian migrants currently residing in various EU Member States. The results of this research can be seen as a contribution to the development of further policies, activities and academic research on this particular group. Indeed, in its quest of assisting migrants and answering the needs of all States involved in migratory movements, IOM aims at allowing policy makers, researchers and other stakeholders to develop their respective strategies but also to provide direct assistance to migrants. This research allowed for the collection of quantitative data and represents the first and largest quantitative study carried out on Brazilians residing in an irregular situation in Ireland, Portugal and Belgium. It was a challenge to reach those 1300 persons who agreed to answer the questionnaire. This study would not have been possible without the full involvement and dedication of the Head researcher Pedro Góis and from the staff in the IOM missions in Dublin, Lisbon and Brussels. The support from various stakeholders in the three countries has greatly facilitated the data collection and the contacts with migrants in irregular situation. I also want to thank Mrs Monica Pereira from the NGO Abraço in Belgium for her valuable contribution and constructive comments on the study as well as all the contributors in the three countries. Finally, the support from the IOM Headquarters and the cooperation with the IOM Office in Buenos Aires also contributed to consolidating different views on Brazilian migration to Europe. Thanks also goes to the European Commission (DG Justice, Freedom and Security)