Incomplete Migration: a New Form of Mobility in Central and Eastern Europe. The Case of Polish and Ukrainian Migrants

Abstract

In recent decades we have witnessed the diversifying and, in many regions, intensifying flows of people across the globe (for example, Zlotnik, 1998 and Okólski 1999b). One of the distinct elements of those flows is the movement of temporary migrants, a substantial proportion of whom are undocumented.² Remoteness, in terms of physical distance, seems less than ever an obstacle to mass temporary migration. In fact, in view of relatively limited opportunities for settlement migration between countries, migrants increasingly choose to focus on one particular aim: namely, earning money in the host country and spending it in the home country. Migrants do not have to stay abroad long to realise this aim. On the contrary, in many instances it may well be achieved within the period of the validity of a tourist travel document, especially when a visa-free regime for tourists is in operation.³ We might term this ‘incomplete migration’.

The present text draws heavily on the author’s papers presented to the following two conferences: ‘Central and Eastern Europe — New Migration Space?’ (Pultusk, Poland, 11–13 December 1997) and ‘International Migration: Challenges for European Populations’ (Bari, Italy, 25–27 June 1998).