This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Ref. Ares(2018)2312072 - 01/05/2018 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 649255 Growth, Equal Opportunities, Migration and Markets (GEMM) Report on institutional and contextual factors Authors: Siyka Kovacheva, Boris Popivanov and Radka Peeva, New Europe Centre for Regional Studies, Plovdiv Diego Coletto, Iraklis Dimitriadis and Giovanna Fullin, University of Milano- Bicocca Maricia Fischer-Souan, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Octav Marcovici, Center for Urban and Regional Sociology, Bucharest April 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Outline of the report ............................................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1. Early adaptation of migrants ............................................................................................ 6 1.1. Introduction. The early adaptation ‘turning point’. .................................................................. 6 1.2. Challenges and support during early adaptation ........................................................................ 7 1.2.1. Institutional ties and interactions .......................................................................................... 7 1.2.2 Informal sources of support and local contexts ...................................................................... 9 1.2.3. Housing and neighbourhood issues ..................................................................................... 10 1.3. Pathways to the labour market. The first job abroad. ............................................................. 13 1.4. Conclusions. Drivers of migrants’ adaptation strategies .......................................................... 17 1.5. References .................................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2: Work trajectories and career growth ............................................................................ 20 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 20 2.2. Professional and career trajectories .......................................................................................... 23 2.3.1. School-to-work trajectories ................................................................................................ 24 2.3.2. Upwards trajectories ........................................................................................................... 26 2.3.3. Horizontal trajectories ......................................................................................................... 27 2.3.4. Downwards trajectories ....................................................................................................... 29 2.3. Experiences of unemployment ................................................................................................... 30 2.4. Experiences of discrimination .................................................................................................... 32 2.5. Conclusions and policy recommendations ................................................................................ 36 2.6. References .................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3. The role of social ties in migrants’ experiences in the process of social integration .. 41 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 41 3.2. Migrants’ ‘strong’ ties .............................................................................................................. 42 3.2.1. Ties with family members in the country of departure ....................................................... 42 3.2.2. Family ties as experienced in the host country ................................................................... 46 3.3. Migrants’ ‘weak’ ties ................................................................................................................... 49 3.3.1. Friendship ties ..................................................................................................................... 49 3.3.2. Social ties in community involvement ................................................................................ 53 3.3.3. Migrants’ representations of the reasons for a low social capital ....................................... 54 3.4. Conclusions. Patterns of social integration strategies ............................................................... 57 3.5. References .................................................................................................................................... 58 2 Chapter 4. Identity formation and citizenship of Bulgarian, Italian, Romanian and Spanish migrants across EU destinations ........................................................................................................ 60 4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 60 4.2. Migrant ‘belonging’ and identities ............................................................................................. 61 4.2.1. Identification with country of origin ................................................................................... 62 4.2.2. Acculturation or “disidentification” .................................................................................... 65 4.2.3. Cosmopolitanism and European identification ................................................................... 67 4.3. New Citizenship Acquisition ....................................................................................................... 72 4.4 Coping with Brexit and the uncertain future of EU mobility rights ........................................ 77 4.5 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 83 4.6 References ...................................................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 5. The lived experiences of non-EU migrants in Germany .............................................. 88 5.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 88 5.2. Early Adaption to the German context ...................................................................................... 88 5.2.1. Language ............................................................................................................................. 88 5.2.2. Working Environment ......................................................................................................... 89 5.2.3. Other situations ................................................................................................................... 90 5.3. Maintaining old social ties and creating new ones .................................................................... 91 5.3.1. Maintaining old ties ............................................................................................................ 91 5.3.2. Creating new social ties ...................................................................................................... 92 5.4. Experiences of work integration and career growth ................................................................ 95 5.4.1. Work integration ................................................................................................................. 95 5.4.2. Career growth ...................................................................................................................... 97 5.5. Identity and Citizenship .............................................................................................................. 98 5.5.1. Estrangement in home country before migration ................................................................ 98 5.5.2. Recognizing differences after migration ............................................................................. 99 5.5.3. Change of citizenship ........................................................................................................ 100 5.6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 101 General conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 102 3 Outline of the report Once in the destination country, migrants face the challenge of adapting to a new socio- economic, political and cultural context. Interacting with the institutions of the new society, searching for jobs in a tough labour market or trying to develop their occupational career, maintaining old and creating new social ties, reshaping feelings of belonging are all demanding aspects of the migration experience, even in conditions of freedom of mobility in the EU labour market. Mobile individuals apply diverse strategies to achieve their personal goals drawing upon formal and informal channels of support, influenced by the policies of the host countries to manage the mobility of European citizens and achieve competitiveness