Multiple Migrations: Who Moves On and Why? – Answers From a Biographical Informed Perspective

Even though multiple migrations have and continue to gain in importance due to contemporary internationalization processes, to date they have hardly been subject of systematical examinations in migration research. Not only are the dimension and significance of their repeated migratory movements in the society as a whole underestimated, but also bring they out a methodological challenge for social research, especially quantitative methods. The multiple transnational paths of those onward migrants usually don`t appear respectively go missing in survey statistics. Nevertheless, according to certain targeted quantitative studies a notable part of international migration can be characterized as repeat migration. Based on them limited data are available on their demographic characteristics such as age, income, employment, educational background and country of origin. However, even less is known about their individual motivations, decision-makings and experiences. In order to contribute to an understanding of who is moving on and why, results of a qualitative, biographical oriented study on serial migrants from different national and social backgrounds are presented. Therein the underlying structures of meaning and patterns of orientation of their multiple migration movements are reconstructed and analyzed as constitutive elements of their transnational trajectories and social contexts.