Civic Stratification and Social Positioning

CEE Labour Migrants without a Work Permit

Bibliographic Data

ID12788262
AuthorsErik Snel (0000-0003-3808-9541, Erasmus University Rotterdam, corresponding author), Marije Faber (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Godfried Engbersen (0000-0003-4635-1247, Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Year2014
Volume21
Issue6
Pages518-534
Publication date2014-02-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopulation Space and Place (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1544-8444 • E-ISSN: 1544-8452
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/psp.1846
OpenAlexW1537912531
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited29

Civic stratification is a relatively new dimension of social inequality in contemporary Western societies. States grant, or deny, different legal statuses and related social and economic rights. European Union (EU) nationals, for instance, have full rights to settle and work in other EU countries. Most EU countries have made an exception for nationals of new member states such as Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU in 2007. As in the past, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals need a work permit to work in other EU countries. However, many Romanians and Bulgarians came to countries such as the Netherlands without a work permit. This study examines what this ambivalent legal position of many Romanian and Bulgarian nationals means for their social position. Using data from a survey among 654 Central and Eastern European labour migrants, we distinguish four migrant categories: (1) Romanians and Bulgarians with a work permit; (2) Romanians and Bulgarians without a work permit; (3) Romanians and Bulgarians who do not need a work permit; and (4) Polish labour migrants who hold a different legal position. We use three measures of the social position of migrants: occupational status, earned monthly incomes, and housing conditions. We find that Romanians and Bulgarians with a work permit (‘compliant migrants’) score better on all three indicators than Romanians and Bulgarians without a work permit (‘semi‐compliant migrants’). Polish labour migrants have a comparable marginal position in the Netherlands with that of many Romanians and Bulgarians without a work permit. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Bulgarian · Citizenship · Demographic economics · Economic policy · Economics · European union · Immigration · Latvian · Political science · Politics · Position (finance · Romanian · Social stratification · Work (physics · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics