Situating transnational activities: Peruvian migrants’ family visits in a comparative perspective

Abstract

Migrants’ transnational activities have become a core matter in migration and transnational family care research. Among these, migrants’ visits in the country of origin are of particular interest due to their (presumably) positive effects on cohesion and relationships of transnational families. So far, research on the scope and structuring features of migrants’ family visits has compared different migrant populations residing in the same host society, suggesting that different factors act upon their travel propensity. However, no study has considered the impact of different host societies on the transnational involvement of migrants from the same country of origin. This study bridges this gap by comparing the frequency and determinants of Peruvian migrants’ travels to their country of origin from five destination countries. Drawing on the framework of capacity and desire, it is expected that geographic distance, human capital, and transnational ties are strong predictors for frequent travels. Yet, geographic distance does not explain engagement in this transnational activity. Moreover, using regression analysis, findings show that factors play out differently in each country, suggesting that migrants’ family visits are structured by time and context-specific circumstances including migration histories and policies as well as patterns of migration.

Keywords:

• Migration
• family visits
• transnational
• Peru
• comparison
• capacity and desire

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the international expert workshop “International Migration and visits ‘back home,’” Mainz, 3–4 December 2015. I am grateful to the director of the Encuesta Mundial a la Comunidad Peruana en el Exterior for providing me with access to the data base.

Notes

1. As far as the effect on other variables is concerned, migration status apparently absorbs some of the effect of the variable “years of residence” (Model 1c), which can perhaps be explained by a positive but weak correlation between years spent in the country of residence and migration status (r = .25, p < 0.01).

2. According to the 2010 Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas [National census of population, households and housing], only 3.27% of Peruvian migrants had already reached the age of 65 compared to, e.g., 23.1% of Chilean, 17.8% of Uruguayan, or 8.88% of Bolivian migrants (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos de la República Argentina 2016, own calculations).

3. While the price for a ticket for a two-day bus trip from Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile to Lima is approximately 120 US dollars, the prices for flight tickets differ significantly. Thus a 5-hour flight from Buenos Aires costs between 500 and 600 US dollars, whereas a 4-hour flight from Santiago de Chile is available for as little as some 200 US dollars.

4. Moreover, it should not be taken for granted that family reunification is always the ultimate goal of migrants, e.g., when migration is seen as only a temporary project (Mazzucato & Schans, 2011).