Politics of Onward Migration

Onward migration is shaped by a wide range of intersecting factors. For many, it becomes a necessity driven by labour market conditions, legal and residency constraints, and structural factors, such as racism. These forces do not act uniformly; they fall disproportionately on racialised minorities, low-income groups, and those with precarious legal status, compounding their vulnerability and narrowing their choices both for staying and leaving. Conversely, access to economic, social, and cultural capital — including more privileged passport hierarchies — affords certain populations significantly greater agency in determining when, where they move next. Onward migration is therefore not simply a matter of individual choice, but a profoundly unequal process stratified by class, race, gender, and legal status. Therefore, onward migration is also connected to how people (dis)trust the structure of the societies that they navigate along the way.

At the same time, studies have shown that onward migration is a deeply relational process, shaped by family obligations, gender roles, caring responsibilities, and the negotiation of mobility with significant others. Far from being a linear journey, onward migration may unfold in multiple ways: directly and without obstruction, delayed by periods of immobility, achieved step-by-step through intermediary moves, or following other types of international mobility that did not produce the desired outcomes.

A life-course perspective adds further depth to this picture, situating onward migration within the unfolding biographical trajectories of individuals and families. Aspirations shift over time — shaped by ageing, partnership, parenthood, and changing labour market positions — meaning that the decision to move on is rarely fixed, but continuously renegotiated in response to evolving personal circumstances and structural conditions. Crucially, not all members of a household or family unit experience these trajectories equally, and the capacity to move — or to stay — is itself unevenly distributed along lines of age, gender, and legal status.
This panel brings together scholars working at these frontiers, with the aim of advancing a more nuanced, intersectional, and empirically grounded understanding of onward migration. We invite contributions that engage with onward migration from a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives, including sociology, anthropology, human geography, sociolinguistics, political science, and legal studies.

We particularly welcome papers that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Structural drivers of onward migration, including institutional (dis)trust, labour markets,
  legal constraints, and racism
• The role of family, gender, and caring responsibilities in shaping onward mobility
• Life-course approaches to migration trajectories and shifting aspirations
• Methodological innovations for researching onward migration and hard-to-reach populations
• Policy responses to onward migration and their differential impacts

The language of the session is English.

The path to a more prosperous existence is not always clear-cut for some African migrants. Rather, it frequently takes place in transitional states like Mexico, Turkey, Libya, Morocco, etc., which become short-term sites of employment, residency, and a foundation for future migration. “I have not gotten to my destination” captures unpredictability, expectations, and unfulfilled dreams that permeate African migrants’ daily lives as they wait for chances to advance. The views of African migrants who see transition states as stepping stones as opposed to endpoints are examined in this study. This study also looks at how African migrants perceive and navigate the concept of “destination” when residing in nations they had previously thought of as interim stopovers. Through a qualitative method based on secondary data and migration system theory, which provides an explanation for why migrants migrate through a network of source, transit, and destination countries, findings from this study showed that migration patterns in Africa are not always based on a clear, predictable movement from one country to another but instead an ongoing procedure driven by evolving factors and expectations, such as a shortage of job possibilities, financial strain, security concerns, and opinions regarding improved living standards. The study also revealed that transition states play a crucial role in the process of migration, functioning as both interim homes and sites for African migrants to re-evaluate their goals and decide what to do next. The research comes to the conclusion that, in order to fully comprehend African migration, it is necessary to pay greater focus to these intermediary narratives as well as the perspectives of the migrants, especially the enduring belief that they have “not gotten to their destination.”

Keywords: African Migration, Transition States, Onward Migration, Prosperous Countries, Migration Aspirations.

This presentation explores the labour market encounters and migration journeys of academic and technology professionals who initially relocated to Finland before undertaking onward migration to other destinations. Drawing on qualitative accounts, the research highlights the motivations, challenges, and opportunities faced by these individuals as they navigated both the Finnish labour market and subsequent transitions abroad. The findings offer new insights into transnational mobility, the dynamics of skilled migration, and the evolving landscape of international talent circulation. In engaging with the onward migration literature—which draws attention to the interplay of individual aspirations, institutional barriers, and career opportunities —this study contributes to a nuanced understanding of onward migration as a dynamic process shaped by both agency and structure within the global labour market.

Despite the transnational turn in migration studies in the 1990s, migration is often perceived as encompassing movement from a place of origin to a particular destination. Studies on onward migration, defined as “a spatial trajectory that involves extended stays in two or more destination countries” (Ahrens & King, 2023: 5), however, allow for an “open-ended and processual understanding of migration” (ibid), in which places can “change from being destinations to becoming points of departure” (ibid).

This paper takes as starting point particular patterns of onward migration, from Sweden to Swedish-speaking Finland. Drawing on early data collection with ethnographic methods such as life story interviews and language portraits, the paper explores migration trajectories across national borders, yet in the same language community. It examines reasons for moving as well as processes of settling in a context in which the dominant, majority language of the point of departure is a minority language in the new country and city of residence.

The paper additionally takes as its starting point Ehrenfeld’s (2025) exploration of Deleuze and Guattari’s (1987) distinction of ‘smooth’ and ‘striated’ space, asking if and to what extent a language community that spans across borders may act as a smooth space, i.e. a place associated with nomadism. This, in turn, means that the space is “created and carried” by nomads, forming a “plain, open, and boundaryless” space (Ehrenfeld, 2025: 423).

This article critically examines how employed skilled migrants in the UK perceive their future trajectories—whether staying, moving onwards, or returning. Based on 53 interviews with migrants working in white-collar occupations, the study explores how employment, often treated as a key source of legitimacy in the host society, shapes but does not determine migrants’ sense of inclusion. While being unable to access work is frequently cited as a central
reason for onward or return migration, employment alone does not guarantee staying. In line with debates on the integration paradox, being highly skilled and structurally integrated does not automatically translate into social embeddedness or emotional security.

Against this backdrop, the article analyses how white-collar migrant workers interpret their migration journeys and evaluate the possibility of future mobility. We examine how decisions about staying or leaving are shaped by migrants’ perceptions of belonging, everyday inclusion, and their trust in the future that life in the UK can offer them. These perceptions are relational and dynamic: they reflect experiences in workplaces, neighbourhoods and institutions, as well as broader concerns about stability, recognition and long-term prospects.

By foregrounding migrants’ own temporal and affective orientations toward the future, the article shows how onward and return migration are not solely economic or career-driven decisions but are deeply connected to feelings of security, social acceptance and anticipated life chances. Understanding these dynamics is essential for analysing skilled migrants’ mobility patterns in contemporary post-Brexit Britain and for assessing the conditions under which staying becomes desirable—or onward migration becomes a meaningful alternative.