Free Movement and Serial Migration: Exploring the Lives and Motivations of Highly Skilled Finns Living Abroad

The European Union (EU) is a globally unique area, where it is possible for the majority of Europeans to study, work or retire in any of the 28 EU member states, as well Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein (Koikkalainen 2011). European citizens have more legal, transnational mobility rights than any other migrant group in the world and the ease of mobility across intra-European borders has created a common labour market for those willing to be mobile. The presentation discusses the intra-European mobility regime from the perspective of highly skilled migrants: how young, educated Europeans experiment with living abroad, move between European capitals and take up on job offers in various countries without the need to worry about visas, work permits, or integration requirements. For these privileged migrants, or Eurostars (Favell 2008), onward migration may be as easy as buying a low-fare airline ticket or hopping on a fast train. The paper draws on the Working in Europe Study (2008-2011) which collected the experiences of 364 Finns working in 12 European countries. Special attention is paid to the experience, qualities, and motivations of the serial migrants, those who had lived abroad in at least two different countries. Why did they move abroad in the first place, and why did they move again? Do they display a particularly European identity, continue to identify with their original home country, or see themselves as global citizens (Koikkalainen 2013)? And does the ease of mobility increase the likelihood of remigration?

Favell, Adrian 2008: Eurostars and Eurocities: Free Movement and Mobility in an Integrating Europe. Oxford: Blackwell.

Koikkalainen, Saara 2011: Free movement in Europe: Past and Present. Migration Information Source, April 2011. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=836

Koikkalainen, Saara 2013: Transnational highly skilled Finnish migrants in Europe: Choosing one’s identity. National Identities 15:1, 85-100 doi:10.1080/14608944.2012.733156