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Although skilled migration now represents the only `acceptable' form of migration into the UK there has so far been little analysis of the ways in which the shift in the skills of the primary migrant reconfigures family migration. In this paper I outline some reasons for this neglect, highlighting the ways in which two related sets of debates, that on gender and international migration into Europe and that on tied migration, have not yet adequately addressed the changing role of migrant women in contemporary labour markets. Both offer a critique of patriarchy within the household but neither have examined the ways in which immigration regulations intersect with labour market conditions in influencing family strategies around labour market participation of men and women in migrant households. Through the example of medical labour markets I argue that such an analysis is necessary for understanding family migration amongst the skilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on how constructions of 'the migrant family' in political discourse influence migrants' and their families' lives. In specific national contexts, 'the migrant family' is determined according to the national and European debates and expressed by their respective rules and regulations. By 'doing family', migrants and their families develop strategies in order to fit these requirements of living a certain family life. Fulfilling specific norms and perceptions which are not necessarily required for the majority of society is a precondition to succeed. Who is and who is not part of the family, who holds responsibility — such aspects have to be proved and repeatedly reproduced by migrants and their families. This not only affects their position in society, but also has strong implications on their lives as a couple and family, since it requires the continuous adaptation and reconstructions of their everyday reality. ☆ Elisabeth Strasser, Albert Kraler, Saskia Bonjour and Veronika Bilger are researchers at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors only, and not those of ICMPD as a Vienna-based intergovernmental organization or of its member states. This paper is based on preliminary results of the comparative research project 'Civic Stratification, Gender, and Family Migration Policies in Europe', funded by the Austrian Ministry of Science (node — research programme) from 2006–2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue comes at a time when political debates on the future of a `United Europe' are raging. As more countries are gradually being introduced into the EU super-state, old questions take on new importance. The focus of this issue is on migration and, in particular, family migration. We suggest that this is a critical topic in the European research agenda. We consider both how family-related migration affects the social, demographic, and economic contours of the emerging European superstate, and also how the superstate and its political functioning itself influences family migration. We argue that the transformation of Europe into a single market represents a significant conceptual challenge for those accounts of family migration that wish to inform social policy. However, to date, research on family migration in Europe lacks the coherent theoretical focus exhibited by case-study research from North America. Also, despite the recent recognition that most geographic mobility implicitly and explicitly involves families, the role of the household in migration continues to be poorly understood, particularly in the European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being the dominant mode of legal entry for the past two decades in European Union states, the study of family migration has been marginalised theoretically, methodologically and empirically. In settler societies, family migration has been interpreted more loosely and has been encouraged. The definition of who constitutes the family is determined by the state and is generally interpreted in highly restrictive terms in EU states. Family-related migration has been neglected because of the emphasis in migration studies on the individual, a heavily economic focus, and an association with female migration based on the dichotomy of male producer and female reproducer. In policy terms it is treated as a secondary form of migration subordinate to and divorced from labour markets. However since the late 1980s family-related migrations have become the subject of scholarly research, especially North American and Asian-Pacific, using network analysis and, more recently, concepts of transnationalism. In this paper I firstly explore the reasons for the relative neglect of family-linked migration in European research which has focused on the integration of migrant families in receiving societies and the legal and policy conditions of family reunification. Secondly, I examine some of the implications of changing family-led migration, especially at key moments and stages of the lifecourse, and the increasing restrictions imposed on this form of migration, highlighting the continuing role of the nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]