Understanding Integration Experience and Wellbeing of Economic-Asylum Seekers in Italy: the Case of Nigerian Immigrants

Chinedu Obi (), Wannes Slosse, Fabio Bartolini, Joost Dessein and Marijke D’Haese
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Chinedu Obi: Ghent University
Wannes Slosse: Ghent University
Fabio Bartolini: University of Ferrara
Joost Dessein: Ghent University
Marijke D’Haese: Ghent University

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2023, vol. 24, issue 1, No 9, 189-210

Abstract: Abstract The literature on migrants’ integration and wellbeing is ample, but the case of economic-asylum seekers in a protracted asylum application system is yet to receive sufficient attention. The economic-asylum seekers are a unique group who migrate with an economic motive but apply for asylum to achieve economic integration in the host country. We use the aspiration-capability framework and a mixed-method approach: participant observation, focus group discussion, and field survey, to study a group of economic-asylum seekers from Nigeria when they were waiting for their asylum decisions in Italy. We find that they evaluate their wellbeing by reflecting on their premigration aspirations, integration constraints, and capabilities. They report lower life satisfaction compared to their satisfaction in Nigeria, and were affected by several barriers including structural, psychological, economic, and social constraints. Our study generally describes what it is like to live in limbo and frustration, with a limited assurance for a better tomorrow. It gives voice to the economic-asylum seekers and contributes to the integration literature by examining their perceptions of integration constraints.

Keywords: Irregular migrants; Subjective wellbeing; Capability approach; Aspiration gaps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-022-00938-1

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