Are Transnational Family Configurations Part of the Families' Migration Strategies or a Necessary Stage of Their Settlement Process? A Case Study of Recent Immigrant Arrivals in France

Tatiana Eremenko, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

A growing literature is focusing on the lives and practices of transnational families, particularly those with young children. However the meaning of these families still remains unclear: are they rational and desired family arrangements as some studies indicate or a consequence of the migrants' precarious socio-economic and legal situation upon arrival? Using the Longitudinal Survey on the Integration of Newly Arrived Migrants (ELIPA) carried out in France in 2010 (wave 1) and 2011 (wave 2), we analyze the migration trajectories of families with children in relation to the migrants' socio-economic and legal status, as well as their migration project (settle in France, return...). Although the former appear to have a significant impact on the family's trajectory, such is not the case of the migration project. This result may point to a general aspiration among migrants to live with their children, but may also be linked to the sample's characteristics.