illés, sánDor
Active Society Foundation dr.illes.sandor@gmail.com
Absztrakt
MAGYARORSZÁGRA CIRKULÁLÓ IDEGENEK Illés Sándor
A tanulmány empirikus adatokkal mutatja be a Magyarországot érintő nemzetközi cir-kulációt. Fő célja az, hogy adminisztratív típusú makroadatok felhasználásával szám-szerűsítse és térképen ábrázolja a cirkulálókat a nemzetközi vándorok körében. Először a cirkulációt értelmezi a transznacionalizmus kontextusában. Majd elemzi a a sajátos statisztikai módszer segítségével alkotott cirkulálókat. Végül az állampolgárság országa változó alkalmazásával, néhány területi összefügést mutat be.
Kulcsszavak: nemzetközi migráció, nemzetközi cirkulációs migráció, statisztikai mérés, térbeli mintázat, vizualizáció, térképezés, Magyarország
Introduction
Multiple displacements from one home to another have become increasingly fre-quent during the epoch of globalisation (Okulicz-Kozaryn 2014). We argued that cir-culation, as a part of international migration, should be viewed as interlinked processes rather than a single event. The transnational dimension of migration is increasing. Cer-tain international migrants become circular migrants. They devoted their time and activ-ity to both their country of origin and their destination country (Casado-Díaz et al. 2014).
Multiple moves of individuals often show particular systematic features. Even the simplest migration system consists of at least two elements. Return migration, typical of this pattern, inevitably includes the preceding migration (Lang–Nadler 2014, Lados et al. 2013). If the migrant explores more than one new country, we have a case of se-rial migration. Moreover, the multiple moves of individuals interconnect two or more geographical locations (Zsótér et al. 2015, Teperics–Czimre 2013).
Relatively few circular movements are documented quantitatively, so data gather-ing is essential (Hárs 2014, Hugo 2013). The present study aims to enrich our knowl-edge of circulation within an international migration context.
Concept and definition
A single immigration may mean a migration (from the country of origin to the host country), a return migration (from the host country back to the country of origin) or a repeated migration (from the host country to a third country). In our view, circulation contains two or more instances of immigration to the same country. By analogy to the distinction stated by the European Commission (2011), we may identify two differ-ent perspectives on non-nationals as viewed from the destination country. We might differentiate between non-national circulars residing in the country of origin (inwards
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illés, sánDor circulation) and non-national circulars settled in the host country (outwards circulation).From a methodological point of view, the analytical value of these two perspectives is completely equivalent. For practical reasons, we decided to utilise the inwards perspec-tive in our Hungarian research. In cases involving two immigrations of the same person to the same host country, we can identify four different cases (origin-host; host-third-host; host-third-origin-host; host-origin-third-host) from the point of view of the host country. The next logical step can then be taken by considering analogous cases involving three immigrations. The occurrences of three instances of immigration by the same person to the same host country comprise 16 potential spatial cases.
Several phenomena involving multiplicity accompanied the more frequent recur-ring spatial movements in the era of globalisation. These phenomena included multiple residence, multiple citizenship, multiple property ownership, multiple employment and multi-occupationality, multiple social and political activities, multiple identity, multiple loyalty and multiple partnerships (family, friendly, marital) (Amelina–Vasilache 2014, Baldassar–Merla 2014, Cassarino 2013, Triandafyllidou 2013, Zsótér 2007). We are aware that this list was not complete. We could expand the roster. However, we only cited those newly emerging multiple phenomena that might exhibit a close relationship with circulation as a migratory system.
The exact working definition of international circular migration is as follows: in-ternational circular migration is a type of spatial migratory system including at least three interlinked, individual migrations in which at least one has return character among the countries involved. According to this definition, international circular mi-gration constitutes multiple return moves within the same spatial system.
Data and methods
Clearly, given the macro scope of this research, not all dimensions of circulation can be investigated (Beauchemin 2014). We studied the immigrants for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and determined the number of individuals who registered since 2001.
Immigrants registered twice, three times, four times and more constitute the long-term international circular migrants, the topic of this paper.
The primary database consists of individual data files on legal immigrants each year between 2001 and 2008. According to the official statistical definition, the term
‘immigrant’ means a foreign citizen who entered Hungary in a given year and obtained a permanent residence or settlement permit for one year or more than one year. This definition is consistent with the recommendation of the United Nations on the gathering of international migration data. The documented legal status guarantees free move-ments and appears to encourage border crossing. These data are obtained from the Of-fice of Immigration and Nationality. We utilise data on the flow of immigrants because net migration figures conceal multiple movements, e.g., circulation.
We established an original method for the creation of a secondary database on international circular immigrants in Hungary as our group of interest. In this
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method, we compared one of the three years under investigation with the previous years, starting with 2001 (for example, 2006 with 2005, 2007 with 2001-2006 and 2008 with 2001-2007).
Extent of international circular migration
Between 2006 and 2008, 77 521 foreign immigrants entered Hungary. Of these immigrants, 10 907 have already stayed in Hungary as immigrants. This finding in-dicates that more than 14 per cent of all of these immigrants were long-term circulars (multiple returnees) with previous personal experience with the country (this percent-age could be even higher, but we only had access to data for the years since 2001).
Amelie Constant and Klaus F. Zimmermann (2011) utilised German data to explore the extent of international circular migration within the guestworker population. They used the first 14 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel data from 1984 to 1997 and found that 62 per cent of all individuals in the sample were repeat or circular migrants.
The large difference between the two findings could be explained by the different types of data, the length of the study periods and the populations investigated. Moreover, Germany has traditionally been a country to which immigration occurred over the past half century, but the history of immigration to Hungary began in the late 1980’s. We can confidently anticipate that the Hungarian proportion of circulars is growing in the near future, but it is impossible to estimate the eventual peak level. Unfortunately, the circular guestworker subpopulation was not separated by parity (numbers of exits) in the study of the German data, in contrast to the Hungarian case. We also found that of the 10 907 long-term international circulars (who were registered as immigrants more than once), 75.9 per cent entered the country for the second time, 21.6 per cent for the third time, and 2.5 per cent arrived for the fourth time since 2001. The decrease in these values was in agreement with previous expectations.
Labour mobility would be the predominant source of international circular migra-tion. Many migrants are involved in one or more systems of emigration and return. In the Hungarian labour market, the circular immigrants might feel marginalised from the host society. Accordingly, they simultaneously retained links to their country of origin by sending remittances, by conducting dual entrepreneurial activities and by moving back and forth. These activities reflect a dual attachment to the source country and the receiving country (Illés–Kincses 2012).
Some spatial patterns by visualisation
The classification by citizenship reflects that circulation is more typical for the citizens of some neighbouring countries, such as Romania, Ukraine Serbia and Slo-vakia. These circulators came primarily from the Hungarian minorities living in these countries, so the language created no real barriers (Kocsis–Tátrai 2012). More than one-half of the international circulators originated from Romania (50.6 per cent). Citi-zens of Western European countries or other, more distant countries generally do not
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return to Hungary as circulars. The exceptions to this pattern are Germans (2.3 per cent) and Chinese (5.7 per cent). The inclusion of German citizens can be explained by the observation that former Hungarian emigrants and German pensioners moved back and forth between their first and second homes. The role of Chinese international circular migrants is explained by the emerging Chinese diaspora and is associated primarily with their main location in the capital, Budapest.
Ethnic Hungarians fluent in their native language returned as multiple immigrants from neighbouring countries. Circulation in general and circular migration in particular functioned as an original solution to the dilemma of remaining in the homeland or go-ing to the mother country to obtain work, education or several family related reasons.
Circulation as a spatial system stretching the ground level, has been involved in an effective solution of the dilemma of Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries since the beginning of the era of the free movement of people related to Hungary. In-ternational circular migration mediates the migrants’ multiple engagement (multiple work, property ownership, family relations, identity and loyalty), with their home coun-tries and their councoun-tries of destination.
Figure 1 shows another, contrasting characteristic of the circular immigrants. In addition to the principal countries of origin, Norway, Russia and Syria send signifi-cant percentages of circulators. The high proportion of circulators within the immigrant Norway (32.9%) and Syria (15.3%) is consistent with the mass international immigra-tion of third level students to Hungary. The relatively significant percentage of circular immigrants from Russia (22.2%) is in agreement with the occurrence of the heritage of socialist epoch and the phenomenon of international elderly migration to Hungary.
Figure 1
Share of circulators within the same nationals immigrating to Hungary by country of citizenship between 2006 and 2008 (%).
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Conclusion
The results of this research indicate that the long-term circulation of foreigners to Hungary as the host country is a mass phenomenon. Based on the unique data processing method used in this study, more than 14 per cent of all immigrants arriv-ing in Hungary were long-term circular migrants between 2006 and 2008. They had subjective experience with living conditions in the host country due to their previ-ous stay as international immigrants or any other status (Amit–Riss 2014, Rátz–
Michalkó 2013).
We can assume that the primary selection factors affecting these groups in the population include both the need to make money in the host country and the desire to continue their usual lifestyle in their country of origin. Circulation is most typical for single persons at productive ages from Romania, Ukraine, Serbia and Slovakia.
These individuals circulate primarily within well-established ethnic networks. The paper illustrates with an example that the spatial visualisation based on numerical information (Tóth et al. 2014, Lentz 2007, Simonyi 1989) provides a further tool for in-depth analysis of international circular migration.
Acknowledgement
The research was supported by Pallas Athéné Geopolitical Foundation (PAGEO), Budapest, Hungary and Active Society Foundation (ATA), Budapest, Hungary.
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