Turning points and transitions in the migratory trajectories of skilled Romanian immigrants in Spain

Abstract:

The academic interest on skilled migration patterns has increased at the same time as the flows of skilled migrants around the world. Despite this tendency, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the migratory projects of particular ethnic communities or in specific receiving contexts.

The current paper examines the migratory experiences of Romanian professionals and the extent to which the incorporation into the Spanish labor market represents a turning point or a transition in their overall life trajectory. Based on a qualitative design, the paper highlights how some profiles are more sensitive to sending and receiving contexts (structural elements), display strategies through mobilization of universities or social networks and shape disrupted trajectories. Others, respond to globalized dynamics, mobilize corporations and finally develop smooth labor transitions. The main elements explaining these patterns are tackled and explained in three profiles of professionals: those who arrive to Spain thanks to the transfer by a multinational company; those who complement their tertiary education with Master degree in Spain and finally, those who correspond to the economic migrant profile.