Fragmented integration and transnational networks: a case study of Indian immigration to Italy and Spain

Abstract

According to 2016 municipal register data, Italy has the highest number of Indians in continental Europe (151,000), followed by Spain (41,000). Mass immigration from India to Italy and Spain started in the 1990s, but economic and political environments more conducive to the entry and permanent settlement of immigrants have resulted in more rapid growth of the Indian immigrant community in Italy than Spain. Due to the unskilled and irregular nature of Indian immigration and the lack of integration policies for unskilled labour in both countries, the level of integration of Indian immigrants remains unexplored. In this research, we used a qualitative methodology to explore the integration level of Indian immigrants into different spheres of these host societies. We conducted 86 semi-structured interviews with Indian immigrants in seven cities with high concentration of Indian immigrants in both countries over 2016–2017. We found that the level of integration of Indian immigrants into the host societies is fragmented: some segments of the Indian community are integrated into specific spheres of the host societies, while the rest remain excluded. The main reasons for this fragmented integration are the absence of integration policies for unskilled immigrants, Indians’ provisional attitudes towards permanent settlement in these countries, the internal diversity of the Indian immigrant community and frequent international mobility through transnational networks.

Migrant youth ‘between mobilities’: Sessility as a working concept

“…At the national level, foreigners (as defined in terms of citizenship status) constitute 8.3% of the total Italian population (Garha & Paparusso, 2018), and Indian immigrants are a sizeable component of this foreign cohort. Italy has the highest number of Indian immigrants in continental Europe, with mass immigration commencing in the 1990s and growing rapidly since, with recent figures putting the Indian community at 2.9% of the total foreign population in Italy (Garha & Paparusso, 2018).…”

Masculinity in the Sikh Community in Italy and Spain: Expectations and Challenges

“…When compared to other destinations in the Sikh diaspora (such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States) that attract high skilled workers or students, Italy and Spain are new destination countries for low skilled Sikh emigrants from middle-class farmer families, who can pay money for irregular entries through tourist visas. In both countries, the Sikh community is highly masculinized and they have a very low level of integration into the host societies due to the remarkable cultural differences (language, religion and education) with the host population and lower education (Garha and Paparusso 2018).…”

“…These men are going through a period of socioeconomic and demographic transition of the Sikh community in India that is having a significant impact on their construction of masculinity. Secondly, the majority of Sikh immigrants in both countries belong to the first or one and a half generation (Garha and Paparusso 2018), who have less economic and social capital, which, in turn, makes them more vulnerable to changes in their country of origin when compared to Sikh men in other major destinations of the Sikh diaspora, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the US. Finally, due to their short stay in host countries, they present researchers with an excellent opportunity to study how Sikh men adapt or resist to their new context where gender equality is an important concern in all spheres of life.…”

Indian immigration to Italy: concentration, internal mobility and economic crisis

“…It is the most relevant data source to study the immigrant population, but it has also some limitations. For example, it only captures the regular immigrant population, since most of the Indian immigrants in Italy entered irregularly or become irregular after reaching Italy (Garha and Paparusso 2018), a significant part of them always remained uncounted; secondly, the data is only available up to the provincial level (due to reasons of confidentiality with respect to personal information), therefore, the information on intraprovincial migration (at the municipal level) is not available.…”

“…it always shows the high number of immigrants compared to the municipal register because many immigrants after receiving the residence permit move to other countries to work and stay (Garha and Paparusso 2018); secondly, immigrants can lose their residence permit, if they lose their job in Italy; and finally, a small number of immigrants with a residence permit issued never come to Italy for work.…”