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Regulating migration to A ustralia and back to the P hilippines: Applying a ‘diaspora strategies’ framework
Author(s) -
Peñafiel Justin
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
singapore journal of tropical geography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1467-9493
pISSN - 0129-7619
DOI - 10.1111/sjtg.12108
Subject(s) - diaspora , homeland , bureaucracy , state (computer science) , immigration , emigration , circular migration , work (physics) , political science , representation (politics) , human migration , sociology , economic geography , political economy , geography , gender studies , population , law , engineering , mechanical engineering , demography , algorithm , politics , computer science
This paper examines circular labour migration between A ustralia and the P hilippines by bringing A ustralian immigration policies and P hilippine diaspora strategies under the same analytical framework. An extensive P hilippine bureaucracy regulates migrants at each stage of the circular migration cycle, and as a sending state it has an interest in migrants staying temporarily in host countries such as A ustralia. The requirement to return home at the end of an overseas work contract compels migrants to remain attached to the sending state, their homeland, and return subsequently. However, A ustralia is allowing a route for temporary migrants to apply for permanent residency while in the host country. This has implications for sending states that rely on migrant ties to the homeland. The paper argues that analysing the intersections between the themes of migration, development and diaspora strategies reveals the multiple meanings of temporariness during migration and in migration studies. It questions whether associating temporariness with precariousness and marginalization is an accurate representation of the complex conditions underpinning circular labour migration.