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This thesis examines a new concept of asymmetrical bidirectional remittance, set within a transnational social fabric encompassing the emotional aspects of family practices that shape an asymmetrical remittance exchange. Through the lens of the New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM) theory and transnationalism, as well as the experiences of Romanian students and migrants working in care, we explore the bidirectional and asymmetrical nature of remittances. Historically, the frame of analysis of migrant remittances typically focuses on the remittance exchange between the migrant and the household of origin. The novelty brought by this thesis comes from the fact that most Romanian migrant remittance literature and research focuses on one side of the remittance spectrum, or more recently, on the reverse remittance patterns that do not examine the asymmetrical cyclical nature of bidirectional remittance flows. The thesis also adds a new dimension to the NELM debate by exploring the impact of emotional practices and emotional support, as well as duty, obligation and moral aspects such as shame, guilt, pride or unrelinquished ownership on the need to reciprocate in the form of remittances. In addition, this thesis builds on Carling's (2008) work on the motives and determinants of the migrants' remitting behaviour by developing the concept of a bidirectional asymmetrical remittance exchange and exploring its ties to the emotional support shared within the transnational family. The data analysis findings support the conceptualisation of a bidirectional asymmetric remittance flows notion, while at the same time challenging the construction of non-migrant social actors as passive receivers of migrants' financial investments. Not only are asymmetrical bidirectional remittance flows empirically observable in the Romanian student and migrant care workers' narratives analysed as part of this thesis, but they are also a key element of a more extensive system of overlapping processes: emotional support, complex identity construction, transnational social networks, social capital utility, and subordinate roles especially for women. Ultimately, a holistic form of remitting behaviour has been identified in the narratives collected in this research, distinguished by bidirectional patterns of exchange between the migrant and the household.

This study described and analysed the provision of reception conditions- including material reception conditions, accommodation, health care, education and employment- to asylum seekers in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The main aims of the study were to: 1) Give an outline of the legislative and administrative measures governing the asylum process in the European Union and the concerned countries, 2) Develop a theoretical framework with cosmopolitan indicators and finally 3) Analyse the findings using the cosmopolitan indicators and discuss whether EU Member States are in compliance with cosmopolitan values and human rights norms when it comes to the provision of reception conditions to asylum seekers. The study is of a unique character as it compared different national processes of reception conditions to asylum seekers in light of a cosmopolitan framework. A multi-method research strategy included a qualitative research approach, the development of indicators and analysis of three case studies. Data was collected from multiple sources: NGO and governmental reports, European, national and regional legislation and semi- structured interviews with experts from NGOs and governmental authorities working in the provision of reception conditions to asylum seekers. The establishment of cosmopolitan indicators describing political, moral and cultural characteristics of a cosmopolitan state provided a conceptual framework for the study, and the indicators served as an analytical tool in the discussion of the findings. The study demonstrated that there are flaws in the analysed national approaches in the provision of reception conditions to asylum seekers. One contributing factor for this was the existing broadly-phrased EU asylum acquis and the implementation of these legislative tools into national and local law. Furthermore, the study pointed out that the EU and the analysed countries show certain cosmopolitan traits, such as the realization of an inter-connectedness and dependency of the world in the present global environment. However, the commitment and ambitious aims of being in compliance with human rights norms and cosmopolitan values are rarely fully translated into the actual provision of reception conditions to asylum seekers. The study found that one of the main forces of this dilemma is the reluctance of the EU Member States to give up a certain degree of their sovereignty in this matter. The study shows that the conceptual framework developed from cosmopolitan ideas can be usefully applied to the study of the provision of reception conditions to asylum seekers, the conceptual framework could be used as guidance for a subsequent and more extensive research in the field. Furthermore, the study presents policy recommendations to the analysed countries providing them with relevant input on shortcomings and possible solutions and improvements to the national asylum processes.