The Socio-cultural Integration of Immigrants: In Between Temporary Migration and Permanent Settlement

Abstract

Abstract:The article examines the integration process of Ukrainians and Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. The authors focus on socio-cultural integration, the pre-and post-migration factors integration depends on, and the differences in the integration process of the two communities. Using survey data they show that the integration process of each group follows a different trajectory and depends on different factors. Ukrainians tend to be more integrated than Vietnamese. The primary factor infl uencing the level of integration of Ukrainian migrants is the length of residence in the Czech Republic. Household composition and the residential preferences of Ukrainians play a secondary role. On average Vietnamese immigrants have resided longer in the Czech Republic, but the increasing length of residence has a much weaker effect on the level of socio-cultural integration of members of this community. The residential preferences of Vietnamese immigrants and especially the age at which they arrived in the Czech Republic are important factors in their integration. Those Vietnamese immigrants who arrived as children are signifi cantly more integrated than those who arrived as adults. These results suggest that the socio-cultural integration of Vietnamese immigrants depends primarily on socialisation in the Czech Republic.

Ukrainians in the Czech Republic: On the Pathway from Temporary Foreign Workers to One of the Largest Minority Groups

“…Many of them are integrated into Czech society, especially when it comes to the second generation of immigrants. Although a considerable proportion of Ukrainians rely on ethnic networks to look for jobs and many of them occupy jobs very typical for migrants, they do not form ethnic enclaves and are not very concentrated spatially (Leontiyeva and Nečasová 2009;Valenta 2012;Bernard and Mikešová 2014).…”

“…A later survey, conducted in 2013, showed that Ukrainian migrants expressed an even stronger tendency to plan a long-term stay in the Czech Republic: the share of economically active Ukrainian respondents who would like to stay in the country for the next 5 years was over 80%. Besides, migrants who remained in the country already had their families with them and appeared to be more integrated in terms of contact with the Czech population than the Vietnamese immigrants (Bernard and Mikešová 2014).…”

“…However, there are a good number of descriptive studies devoted to the history of Ukrainian migration to the Czech lands and the activities of the Ukrainian diaspora, mainly at the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century (Markus 1994;Zilynskyj 1995Zilynskyj , 2000Zilynskyj and Kočík 2001). There are a number of more general studies describing harsh working conditions and the position of Ukrainian immigrants in the labour market (Horáková and Drbohlav 1998;Lupták and Drbohlav 1999;Drbohlav and Dzúrová 2007;Drbohlav et al 2001); barriers to labour market integration (EzzeddineLukšíková et al 2006); over-education of Ukrainian migrants (Leontiyeva 2014;Leontiyeva and Pokorná 2014); and other important aspects of social integration and potential settlement (Leontiyeva and Nečasová 2009;Bernard and Mikešová 2014). Some publications focus on more specific topics, such as the quasi-legal system of middlemen intermediating the employment of Ukrainian immigrants (Nekorjak 2006;Čermáková and Nekorjak 2009); irregular Ukrainian immigration (Nekorjak 2007); and less explored areas like transnational motherhood (Ezzeddine 2012), civic participation and community activities (Zilynskyj 2002;Leontiyeva 2005), transformation of national identities of Ukrainian immigrants (Trlifajová 2009), and remittances sent by Ukrainians from the Czech Republic (Leontiyeva and Tollarová 2011;Strielkowski et al 2012;.…”

Forming Communities or Social Integration? A Personal Network Analysis of Ukrainian Immigrants in Pilsen

“…Jak ukázal nedávný výzkum [Bernard, Mikešová 2014], u Ukrajinců je dominantním faktorem integrace délka pobytu v České republice, doplňkovou roli pak hraje podoba jejich domácností a jejich sídelní preference. Autoři také uvádí, že jak podoba domácností, tak i sídelní preference se s rostoucí délkou jejich pobytu mění.…”

“…Sledovaná kritéria podporují tezi, že délka pobytu v České republice je u Ukrajinců podstatným faktorem působícím na míru jejich integrace [Bernard, Mikešová 2014]. Ve sledované skupině Ukrajinců s délkou pobytu jednoznačně roste počet Čechů v sítích podpory, mírně se zvyšuje pociťovaná blízkost k čes-kým alters a roste podíl českých alters, s nimiž Ukrajinci tráví volný čas a vydáva-jí se za zábavou.…”