2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration

Forced Migration: Involves the imposition of authority or power, producing involuntary migration movements that cannot be based on theories of choices. Refugees are people who have been forced to flee their country because of persecution, war, or violence. They have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Most likely cannot return home or are afraid to do so. Refugees are forced to flee their country and seek safety somewhere else. The UK has a large number of asylum seekers and refugees seeking protection. Asylum seekers are people who flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country, they apply for asylum -the right to be recognized as a refugee and receive legal protection and material assistance. Must demonstrate that his or her fear of persecution in his or her home country is well-founded. The graphs to the left display asylum applications and refugee resettlement in the UK.

Voluntary Migration: This happens after a migrant weighs options and choices, even if desperately or not so rationally, and can be analyzed and understood as a series of options or choices. Transnational migration is when someone migrates out of the country/across national boundaries. An example of voluntary transnational migration would be someone migrating from Vietnam to the UK for better job opportunities. Internal migration is migrating within a country, for example, someone from Manchester migrating to London. Chain migration happens when immigrants follow other immigrants to a specific destination. An example of chain migration would be a man migrating to the UK and then sponsoring his family. Step migration is the progressive movement from a rural area to a small town, to a regional center, to a national metropolis. An example of this would be someone moving from place to place with a final destination of the UK. A guest worker is a person with temporary permission into a country. An example of this would be someone temporarily living in the UK with a work visa. Rural-to-urban migration is when someone living in a rural area migrants to an urban area. An example of this would be someone in Papua New Guinea, a rural country, moving to the UK, an urban country.