Spousal Reunification and Integration Laws in Europe

Project Information

RE-NUP

Grant agreement ID: 890826

DOI

10.3030/890826

Project closed

EC signature date 2 March 2020

Start date 15 May 2020

End date 14 May 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 183 473,28

EU contribution

€ 183 473,28

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RE-NUP (Spousal Reunification and Integration Laws in Europe)

Reporting period: 2020-05-15 to 2022-05-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

This project studied legal procedures adopted by European states to evaluate applications for spousal visas, paying particular attention to how South Asian immigrants negotiated integration laws that are rigorously enforced in cases of family unification. The study looks at the states’ assessment of marital relations that appear contrary to European norms, abstractly defined, and at the implementation of the integration policies that often end up acting as gatekeeping instruments (especially through rules such as the pre-departure language examinations). The ethnographic study conducted as part of RE-NUP reveals that immigrants interpreted language and cultural orientation requirements in diverse ways, either adapting them for their future goals or aspiring to them when opportunities for language acquisition were not available to them. Host societies, in turn, also struggle to embrace their own contemporary identities as global and diverse. The researcher is currently evolving an anthropological approach to cultural integration and intercultural competence training that pertains to both the aspirations of the immigrants and that of host societies.
The overarching objective for the data collection process was to pay attention to individual aspirations, journeys, and negotiations of spouses and family members in diasporic settings rather than on group identity challenges. The specific objectives included:
1. Delineating the ways in which marriage migration and integration processes are gendered.
2. Locating factors that influence visa and residence permit decisions, including knowledge of customary and kinship norms.
3. Connecting the fields of cultural integration and intercultural training.
On a theoretical level, the scholar argues that partner preferences and socio-economic transformations are in a dialectical relationship wherein greater freedom to choose sexual partners reflects not just better access to rights and a more inclusive society, but also reveal the central role played by the institution in either reinforcing or weakening social hierarchies. Ethnographic data from this project reveals the existence of and ability to exercise the right to choose and live with a partner of one’s choice work as a measure of legal and political freedoms and the states’ commitment to fostering inclusivity and equity.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work performed during this fellowship was ascribed to five specific work packages (WP), including one each for Management, Training, Research, Dissemination and Communication. WP3 dealt with qualitative research on marriage migration patterns among South Asian communities in three European countries, including Germany, Italy, and France. The research fellow submitted a total of four academic articles with three more in various stages of preparation; 7 publications in mainstream and collaborative platforms; and four blogposts on the researcher's personal blog. The research was also disseminated in events of varying formats (invited talks, workshop and conference presentations, one podcast). Communication include the virtual series, EURO-EXPERT/RE-NUP Events, as well as a two-day conference titled, Learning, Unlearning, Relearning: Cultural Expertise and its Praxis. These events were organised in collaboration with Prof. Livia Holden, the project supervisor, and the University of Paris Nanterre, the secondment institution.
The research fellow has engaged with social sector organisations and South Asian community members, not only for the enrichment of research data but also for the transfer of academic knowledge to the praxis world. She intends to build on the connections forged as part of the MSC Action for future interventions in the field of integration and intercultural communication.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Contributions to the state-of-art refer to both theoretical and conceptual frames as well as extensions to the current scholarly trends in the field of marriage migration. The fellow has submitted scholarly papers that consolidate her research and writing on themes such as decolonisation as well as the institution of marriage as a legal category. These are directly relevant to the researcher's approach to the topic of spousal migration. The publications on spousal reunification go beyond the current scholarly trends in marriage migration studies by using approaches from phenomenological anthropology, where marriage, migration and integration are examined as processual. That is, the researcher has, in her writings, examined these life events as slow transformations of self, of aspirations, and of notions of belonging and dislocation.

The project addresses some key concerns in policymaking at the EC and member-state levels. Integration, gender, diversity and migration management are critical issues not just for state and EU agencies but also for corporates and local communities. Diversity management has a direct impact on innovation but RE-NUP also uncovers the under-utilised talent of well-qualified spouses who can productively contribute in professional and social spheres of their country of residence and EU as a whole. Preliminary findings, in fact, strongly indicate that immigrants often display an affinity towards the idea of Europe and greater European integration. That is, several research participants spoke of EU as more inclusive and welcoming than the member states they were residents of. This trend holds wider societal implications that needs to be further investigated before being deployed in political and policy interventions.

Marriage Migration and Aspiration among South Asians in Europe