Mikolaj Stanek

Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography

Spanish National Scientific Council

Spain

EXPLORING TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICES OF UKRAINIAN MIGRANTS IN SPAIN

E-mail: mstanek@geps.es

Renata Hosnedlová

Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography

Spanish National Scientific Council

Spain

E-mail: hosnedlova@cchs.csic.es

ABSTRACT. This work examines three areas of transnational behaviour of Ukrainian migrants to Spain: travelling to the country of origin, the frequency of non-direct contact with the communities of origin and remittances. Our objective is to examine how gender, legal status and type of family unit (multilocal / non-multilocal) affect transnational practices. Most of the statistical data presented in this article come from the Spanish National Immigrant Survey (ENI-2007). The study confirms that family ties play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining links between countries of origin and destination. It also reveals that entry and residence restrictions on Ukrainian migrants significantly reduce the transnational mobility of irregular migrants. Finally, no clear relation between gender and transnationalism was observed.

Received: December, 2011

1st Revision: February, 2012

Accepted: April, 2012

JEL Classification: F22, Z10

Keywords: Ukrainian migration, Spain, transnationalism, gender, irregular migrants, family.