JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2024.2305281
Envisioning futures at new destinations: geographical
imaginaries and migration aspirations of Nepali migrants
moving to Malta*
Josef Neubauer
†
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ABSTRACT
ARTICLE HISTORY
Imagination is central to migration. Geographical imaginaries, often
shaped by historical narratives and mainstream media, allow
people to envision futures elsewhere and influence migration
aspirations. Using interviews with Nepalis who migrated to Malta
in recent years, this article seeks to uncover how people imagine
new destinations about which they have limited or no prior
knowledge, and how these imaginaries compare to those of
established destinations. Through this lens, the article then
examines participants’ aspirations to migrate to Malta. The
analysis shows how participants contextualised the information
they found about Malta by drawing extensively from imaginaries
of better-known European destinations, in a mechanism I call
spatial imaginary spillover. Participants moved to Malta seeking
increased personal freedoms, rights and safety, economic stability
and affluence, exploration and social prestige linked to migration
to Western destinations. As such, Malta is part of a group of new
European destinations for Nepalis that are more accessible than
established destinations in the West, and which participants
prefer over historical destinations for Nepali workers. This article
provides novel insights into how imaginaries of new destinations
and other unfamiliar places are produced, and how the lens of
geographical imaginaries yields rich perspectives on migration
aspirations and destination preferences.
Received 25 November 2022
Accepted 6 January 2024
KEYWORDS
Geographical imaginaries;
migration aspirations;
destination hierarchies;
Nepal; Malta
Introduction
People hardly journey to terrae incognitae anymore these days but to destinations they already
virtually “know” through the widely circulating imaginaries about them. (Salazar 2011, 577)
Imagination is central to migration. Scholars have emphasised how migration aspirations
and decision-making are strongly influenced by socioculturally contextualised
CONTACT Josef Neubauer
josef.neubauer@uni-donau.ac.at
†
Current affiliation: Department for Migration and Globalisation, University for Continuing Education Krems, Krems,
Austria.
*This article is partially based on the author’s master’s thesis submitted for the MSc in International Development Studies
at the University of Amsterdam in 2022.
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s)
or with their consent.
2
J. NEUBAUER
imaginaries of places (Salazar 2011; Thompson 2017). Often shaped by historical narratives and the media, they allow people to imagine and aspire to futures, even at distant
places. However, not much has been written about how (would-be) migrants imagine
new and unknown destinations about which limited narratives and media coverage
exist, and how these imaginaries compare to those of more popular destinations, eventually shaping aspirations to migrate to new destinations. This article addresses these
issues, using the case of new Nepali labour migration to Malta.
Geographical imaginaries – or imaginative geographies – are ‘representations of place,
space and landscape that structure people’s understandings of the world’ (Driver 2014,
246). They are the result of individual and collective-interactive imagination processes
(Hagen-Zanker and Hennessey 2021, 37), and can have environmental, cultural, economic, social and political qualities (Thompson 2017, 79). The increasing global flow of
information, goods and people encourages imaginations of other places, including
one’s potential futures in them, and inspires some to develop migration aspirations
(Appadurai 1996).
Thus, when people have migration aspirations and consider potential destinations,
geographical imaginaries are the mental representations upon which potential migrants
evaluate ‘home’ or their current location to one or more alternative destinations
(Thompson 2017). Together, they form landscapes of geographical imaginaries, of
places broadly considered to live in or move to – which Belloni (2022) calls destination
cosmologies. Such cosmologies possess built-in hierarchical qualities: Envisioning and
comparing potential lives and identities at different locations, people construct destination hierarchies that represent ‘scales of preference with respect to possible destinations’
(Belloni 2022, 562; see also Paul 2011). Destination cosmologies and their inherent hierarchies are often collective constructs, shaped by historical and current migration patterns and the narratives around them (Hagen-Zanker and Hennessey 2021). Scholars
have found that destination hierarchies tend to be widely shared within societies, notwithstanding smaller variations in individual preferences (Paul 2011; Pelican and
Tatah 2009; Salazar 2011; Shaw 2010; Vammen 2019).
Some scholars have discussed potential shifts in geographical imaginaries and destination cosmologies, based on new information, narratives and cultural change (Pelican and
Tatah 2009, 233–234). Yet, how do people imagine (themselves at) new destinations they
have not heard of or know little about, and where few historical links and narratives exist?
While there is a growing body of literature on migration along new routes (e.g. Kalir
2005; Minghuan 2012; Vammen 2019; for a review, see Winders 2014), little attention
has been paid to the formative processes of the imaginaries preceding and imbuing
such migration. Further, how do these new imaginaries compare to imaginaries of
more established destinations – that is, how do they integrate with people’s broader destination cosmologies and hierarchies? This article tackles these questions, using qualitative data collected with Nepali migrants who recently moved to Malta – a novel, rapidly
emerging labour migration route. By answering these questions, the paper also provides
rich insights into the aspirations underlying their migration.
The remainder of the article proceeds with an overview of migration patterns from
Nepal, including the new labour corridor to Malta, and explains the immigration
context in Malta. After elaborating on the methodology, the paper briefly illustrates
the novelty of Malta as a destination for participants, and how they built initial
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
3
knowledge of Malta. It then examines how participants imagined Malta before migration,
and introduces the concept spatial imaginary spillover to better understand the imaginative processes which eventually informed their migration decisions. In the final part of
the analysis, the article situates the imaginaries of Malta within the wider set of more
established destinations for Nepalis, and through this lens examines participants’
migration aspirations and destination preferences. The paper concludes with a discussion
of its contributions to the literature. In particular, it considers the theoretical potential of
spatial imaginary spillover to better understand migration decision-making and the formation of geographical imaginaries, and connects the concept to wider debates on place
representations in geography.
Migration in Nepal and the new migration to Malta
Labour migration is a ubiquitous element of Nepali society today. The 2011 census
found that almost 50 percent of all Nepali households had at least one member who
was abroad for work or had returned (IOM1 2019, 2), and more than half of all
households received remittances (MOLESS2 2020, 93). International labour migration
has a long tradition in Nepal and gained importance in the eighteenth century when
Nepalis began to join the armies of the Sikh Empire and later the British Empire in
today’s Pakistan and India (Seddon 2005). Until today, India remains a major destination for Nepali workers, since the open border between both countries and the
historical, social, political and cultural ties make India a highly accessible destination
(IOM 2019).
From the 1980s, declining agricultural production and limited other economic
opportunities in Nepal prompted new labour migrations towards Malaysia and the
Gulf, where rapidly growing economies produced a strong demand for cheap labour
(Sharma 2011). Today, Malaysia and Gulf countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait continue to be the main destinations for
Nepali labour migrants, (informal) movements to India aside (MOLESS 2020). Despite
the commonly poor working conditions and rather limited economic returns, this
trend continues due to dire job opportunities in Nepal, and a lack of accessible
alternative destinations (Gardner 2012; Malla and Rosenbaum 2017; Sharma 2011, 10).
In recent years however, student migration to Australia, Japan, North America or
Europe has been on the rise among young, better-off Nepalis (IOM 2019). Rather than
a temporary educational sojourn, many seem to view this as a ‘one-way ticket out of
Nepal’, allowing them to enter highly desired destinations with strict entry policies,
where they can later switch to work visas (Kandel 2018). Yet, such student migration
entails prohibitively high costs and requires high educational credentials and language
skills, making it only accessible to a small, selected group of Nepalis (Thieme 2017;
Valentin 2015).
In Nepali culture, international migration is strongly connected to the pervasive discourse of development and progress (Thornton et al. 2022). Migration is not just perceived as a livelihood strategy through which young people can fulfil social
obligations, but also as a source of social prestige and status (Sharma 2011, 9). International migration has thus become a rite of passage for young Nepalis, and a crucial
part of identity formation (Sharma 2008; Thieme and Wyss 2005).
4
J. NEUBAUER
Kölbel (2020) discusses the sharp distinction in Nepali discourse between labour
migration to Malaysia and the Gulf on the one hand, and student migration to
Western countries3 and Japan on the other, which is linked to social segmentation
by class and education levels. She finds a strong reluctance among the urban
middle and upper class with high formal education levels to engage in labour
migration to traditional destinations, which they associate with low social status.
This link between class, type of migration and destination leaves those unable to
access student migration, yet unwilling to move as labour migrants to traditional destinations, without clear options.
However, in recent years, there has been an increasing diversification of labour destinations among Nepali migrants (Figures 1 and 2). New, emerging destinations include
West Asian countries such as Jordan and Turkey, but also the Maldives, China and
Japan (on work visas), and European countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Germany,
Romania, Cyprus and Malta (MOLESS 2020, 16, 28). The diversification of destinations
is a central goal of the Nepali government, as it seeks to reduce the fiscal dependency on
remittances from the few major destination countries. Nepal has recently engaged
actively in bilateral labour migration negotiations with Japan, Mauritius, Jordan, South
Korea and Israel, as well as Germany, Portugal, Poland and Turkey (Mandal 2018,
2019a, 2021; MOLESS 2020). Observers also emphasise declining economic opportunities at established destinations as a reason for the increasing diversification of destinations. For instance, volatile oil prices have slowed the economies of many Gulf
states, while recent political initiatives in some of these countries aim to decrease the
dependency on foreign labour and to privilege domestic workers (MOLESS 2020,
14–15; Mandal 2019b).
Figure 1. New labour exit permits issued by Nepal, by destination region, by year. Data: Department
of Foreign Employment, Nepal (2016–2023). Note: South Asia excludes India, as no exit permits are
required for India. Student migration numbers are not available, as no exit permits are required for
student migration.
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
5
Figure 2. New labour exit permits issued by Nepal per destination region in percent, by year. Data:
Department of Foreign Employment, Nepal (2016–2023). Note: South Asia excludes India, as no exit
permits are required for India. Student migration numbers are not available, as no exit permits are
required for student migration.
Migration to Malta and the Maltese context
One of the most recent destinations for Nepali labour migrants is Malta. Within 8 years,
the number of Nepalis holding a valid residence permit in Malta has increased from 10 in
2014 to 7743 in 2022 (Eurostat 2023a). The overwhelming majority of first residence
permits issued to Nepalis in the last years were for work purposes, though it seems
Nepali migration to Malta began with a small number of migrants arriving on student
visas, thus preceding the rapid rise of work-related permits (Figure 3).
The rise of Nepali migration to Malta is part of a general increase in labour immigration of
‘third-country nationals’ (TCNs),4 particularly from Asia and European non-EU/non-Schengen countries. This trend echoes new and increasing labour migration from South Asia to
other countries in Southern and Eastern Europe (Mendoza, Florczak, and Nepal 2020).
Malta, a Mediterranean island state with a population of approximately half a million
people, has been facing severe labour shortages caused by an ageing society and high
economic growth in recent decades (Suban and Zammit 2011). To increase the recruitment of foreign labour, a new labour party administration introduced policy changes
from 2013 onwards that simplified, digitalised and accelerated application procedures
for TCNs (Bonnici 2018; Malta Independent 2017; Martin 2017). However, unlike
other European states, Malta does not seem to have engaged in bilateral labour migration
initiatives or negotiations with Nepal.
Methodology
The article is based on semi-structured interviews with 27 Nepali migrants living in
Malta, conducted between September and December 2021. Participants were recruited
6
J. NEUBAUER
Figure 3. First residence permits issued by Malta to Nepali citizens, by reason, by year. Data: Eurostat
(2023b).
through snowball sampling and all signed an informed consent form. While 10 interviews were conducted individually, 17 participants were interviewed in a collective
setting (2–5 participants), which often felt more comfortable for participants. Since the
interviews focused on individual biographies, experiences and perspectives related to
their migrations, participants were usually sequentially prompted about these aspects
in collective settings. Nevertheless, participants often began to interact and discuss questions beyond personal experiences, occasionally shifting the interviews towards a focus
group format. This provided rich additional insights about collectively harboured imaginaries and social structures. Participants in collective settings also supported each
other with translations, as all interviews were carried out in English. To validate key
findings and ensure that the data was not biased through group pressure, I occasionally
held informal follow-up conversations with interviewees. Individual interviews generally
allowed for deeper engagement with participants and removed potential group
conformity bias. Thus, combining both methods provided different insights and
helped include participants otherwise unwilling or unable to participate. The interview
data was transcribed and thematically analysed in an iterative coding process in
ATLAS.ti 8.
All interviewees had moved to Malta between 2014 and 2021. This temporal range
permits me to trace how pre-migration imaginaries may have differed between earlier
and recently arrived migrants. Retrospective data may introduce recall bias – that is, inaccurate recollections – which tends to increase for less tangible domains such as values or
attitudes (Dex 1995). However, 23 of the 27 interviewees had arrived in 2018 or thereafter, and thus had a limited recall time. Still, the retrospective nature of the study warrants caution in the interpretation of the data.
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
7
The sample includes 18 women and 9 men, aged between 22 and 39 years (median =
28). Participants came from rural and urban backgrounds across different regions in
Nepal. They were from a variety of ethnic groups and castes, in middle or upper positions
in Nepal’s traditional caste hierarchy. Nevertheless, participants had a diverse socioeconomic background: while most had completed the upper high school degree (grade 12),
among which a few had also begun or completed a university degree, some participants
had attained no or only a lower high school degree (grade 10). Interviewees had previously worked in Nepal as assistants in hotels, hospitals or offices, as small-holder
farmers and teachers, or had helped run family-owned businesses. Almost all participants
had come to Malta on visas linked to temporary work permits, which require annual
renewal. At the time of interview, all were employed in low-paying jobs, mostly in the
service industry.
Imagining Malta
‘What is Malta?’ Knowledge and information about a new destination
Before, we didn’t know, what Malta is, where Malta is. … The first time I heard about it was
when I came here. (I2, female)5
The overwhelming majority of participants had never heard of Malta until they first came
across it as a potential destination – often suggested to them by a migration broker, friend
or relative. In fact, ‘what is Malta?’ became an almost iconic phrase throughout fieldwork,
as interviewees recalled their initial bafflement when being introduced to opportunities
there.
We didn’t know anything. We just came … without any planning, we just knew it’s Malta.
It’s Europe. And it’s a small island. (I14, female)
Before discovering Malta as a potential destination, some interviewees were already harbouring strong aspirations to leave Nepal. Some had even undertaken unsuccessful
attempts to move to Western destinations such as Australia or the US, usually via
student visas. Other participants, however, often with lower socioeconomic status, had
not concretely considered migration until stumbling across the opportunity to move
to a small, unknown country in Europe called Malta. Given the restrictive and segmented
emigration opportunities in Nepal, such news about a potentially affordable European
destination was rare. Intrigued, participants then often started researching specific
aspects of Malta they deemed particularly relevant for a potential move, such as
Malta’s EU and Schengen membership, English language use, and the duration of
their work contracts and permits. Some women among the interviewees also researched
crime and safety, as well as public services in Malta. Participants pooled this information
from various sources, including friends, acquaintances and family networks, agents who
brokered their journey, and the internet.
And then we looked, we searched where Malta is … and … in which union it comes. Is it
European European? Or outside of the EU, only Europe. … And then we found a lot of
information, like, it’s safe, it’s good, you know, it’s a tourist country. … Every day, we
were searching for new ideas, you know? Like, ah, there, the hospital is free! And if you
have children, even education is free. (I1, female)
8
J. NEUBAUER
The use of different information sources allowed migrants to cross-check information.
This was particularly relevant given the notorious reputation of brokers to often scam
potential migrants: ‘Whatever he told us about [Malta], the process of coming here, I
always [checked] on the internet. I did a lot of research! … But whatever he said, it
was all true’ (I14, female).
Most participants reported they had also used the internet and social media to view
videos or pictures of Malta. These were often tourist videos glamorously showing off
Malta’s historic sites or famous nightlife. One interviewee described the vlogs she had
watched, created by other migrants in Malta: ‘We looked at YouTube. Like, videos of
Malta, and … people living in Malta and doing vlogs. They are showing their daily
routine. … Filipinos and other nationals’ (I1, female). Another participant said she was
almost obsessed with YouTube videos about Malta while waiting for her applications
to be processed, getting increasingly excited: ‘I searched on YouTube. How is Malta.
How much money do you earn in Malta. … So much YouTube! Day by day, I searched
on YouTube. That’s why I wanted to come here’ (I18, female).
Together, these pieces of information allowed participants to begin constructing an
imaginary of Malta. To complement these imaginaries and contextualise new information they gathered, participants drew extensively from knowledge and imaginaries
of other, better-known European countries, subsuming them and Malta under one ‘imaginative roof’: Europe.
‘Malta is Europe’: the concept of spatial imaginary spillover
“Which place is Malta”, I asked [my friend]. “Malta is a European country”, he told me. And
oh, I got very excited! “Okay, I have to come to Malta”. (I23, male)
For most interviewees, the single most important piece of information about Malta was
that ‘it is Europe’. To them, Europe was not a clearly delineated political or geographical
term. Instead, it represented an idea of a space associated with particular characteristics.
Interviewees had built this imaginary of Europe in various ways. Many mentioned relatives or friends who were living in European countries – particularly Western and Northern Europe – or had lived there in the past.
My grandfather was in the UK army. So, he had been to Hong Kong, England. … And my
cousin’s brother, he’s still in the UK. … Not only now Nepalese people travel a lot, but from
ancient times. (I1, female)
Because so many friends, they are going to Europe, to Germany, France. (I2, female)
Through their contacts’ occasional visits back to Nepal, as well as communication
through messengers and social media, participants formed images of these destinations
and the lives their friends and relatives led there. Ideas and imaginations of Europe are
also inspired by media transmitting events and culture globally. For instance, some interviewees mentioned that they knew about many European countries such as Germany,
Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal through the Men’s Football World Cup.
Thus, participants’ notions of Europe serve as a reservoir of variegated fragmented
information and imaginaries about different European countries, collected and constructed over time. New information obtained on Malta was thus filtered through this
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
9
lens of Europe, enabling Nepalis to contextualise and complement information to patch
the gaps with associations of Europe. As these associations are largely dominated by
information about and imaginaries of larger European countries, we can understand
this process as a spatial imaginary spillover: a cognitive transfer of place-specific imaginaries from one place to another, via a bridging meta-concept connecting both: Europe.
Researcher: Did you know how it is in Malta? … Because you didn’t have information about
it, right?
I12, female: No, the point is, it’s Europe. Europe, ah! Europe is good, we think in Nepal.
Asked about Nepalis’ associations of opportunities with Europe, one interviewee
explained:
First, money. And when we enter Europe, we can go to 29 countries, or 27 countries. And
then, after seven years, after nine years, in Portugal or Spain, we get red passports. You
know, and we can do our own business here. We can bring our families. These things
come to mind first. (I26, male)
A key part of the imaginary of Europe was the idea that it could accommodate interviewees’ broader aspirations for a better life or future. In particular, the possibility to
settle permanently and bring over family members was highly valued by participants:
‘Because here, we can bring our families. If I am married, I can bring my wife. Afterwards, my child’ (I26, male). However, permanent residence and family reunification
are extremely difficult to access for TCNs in Malta (Buttigieg and DeBono 2015;
DeBono 2013). This had not always been clear to interviewees when they had left
Nepal, as some had simply associated Europe with possibilities of long-term settlement and family reunification – based on such rights in more established, betterknown European destinations.
This emphasises a crucial point about spatial imaginary spillover: while it may ease
uncertainty about a new place by filling gaps in the imaginary with information about
places perceived as similar or connected, this information may produce imaginaries
that stand in stark contrast to the experienced realities upon arrival. For instance, the
powerful imaginaries of development most interviewees associated with Europe engendered high expectations of Malta that often remained unfulfilled:
In Nepal, India, or any Asian country, we think that European countries are the most developed countries. … We were thinking, this is a European country, … the European I know, so
our expectations were like “wow!” before we came. And then I didn’t find anything wow. …
Because it’s just normal. Nothing special. (I4, male)
Perhaps the most conspicuous marker of development as understood by study participants was infrastructural development. Malta’s landscape of small historic limestone
buildings and often badly maintained infrastructure thus led to a particularly large
gulf between imaginaries and experienced reality:
I thought here there were big, big buildings, but there’s no big, big building! Here everything
is old, old houses. … Because I thought, this is Europe! And big, and all nice. (I10, male)
When I came out of the airport, there was no good architecture … I expected more. More
everything. Because I thought, it’s Europe, and I expected some more developed country.
And I also expected good buildings, good roads. (I26, male)
10
J. NEUBAUER
Such initial shocks upon arrival about the ‘developmental’ state of Malta were extremely
common among interviewees. One interviewee, who had visited relatives working in
Malaysia and Singapore before, shared:
Because when I went to Malaysia and Singapore, there were big buildings, it’s a developed
place. But here, when I came here, only small houses! … I didn’t think Malta was like that. I
thought here there would also be big buildings, new houses. I was shocked! Is it Europe?!
Because in Nepal, we think Europe is a big country, like that. But here isn’t. Here it is
only old houses … is it Europe? (I27, female)
A similar experience was shared by another interviewee, who had previously worked in
Dubai. Her imaginaries of Malta were dominated by spatial imaginary spillover, interlinked with information obtained on Malta via online videos:
I went on YouTube, I saw the high buildings, everything. But when I came here, ooh …
Dubai has big big buildings, but here everything is small small. Here all is, you know, …
same as Nepal. I feel like it is Nepal. (I19, female)
These two latter quotes illustrate how spatial imaginary spillover interacts with the
wider landscape of geographical imaginaries: As these interviewees had conceptualised
Europe as more developed than Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE and certainly Nepal, processes of spatial imaginary spillover produced imaginaries of Malta that outranked these
places. These imaginaries were further amplified by the selective and biased visual information they had found about Malta online. The experienced realities, however, could not
keep up with these imaginaries, producing a wide gap some participants jokingly called
‘expectation versus reality’.
In Nepal, shopping malls are very big. And then here, the first time she [I27, female] went to
the Point mall, you know, the shopping mall [in Malta], she’s like, “huh?”. Places are not like
she thought. (I8, female)
With a growing Nepali community in the country, one would expect the information gap
about Malta to close – and with it, the chasm between imaginaries and experienced realities. Indeed, interviewees who had only arrived recently, and particularly those who had
followed close family members or friends to Malta, often shared slightly less-extreme
stories of their arrival experience. However, there also seems to be reluctance among
many Nepalis to be fully transparent about their experiences with people in Nepal, as
those would tarnish the success narrative of their migration, and the social status
attached to it.
If my friends ask me, I will say “everything is nice”. … And we post Instagram pictures and
stories. And they say “Ah! I also want to come there.” Because [they see] we enjoy ourselves a
lot here. But it’s only once in a while that we enjoy. But on Instagram, we only share nice
pictures, … not bad things. They don’t see what we work here. … They think that we
collect the money from the tree! (I2, female)
Other interviewees say they try to give a sober picture of their experience: ‘I tell them
exactly the facts. So that when they come to Malta, … they cannot complain to me
[and say] “yeah, you were telling me! If you were telling me this thing I would not
have come!”’ (I4, male). This, however, does not deter many from seeking to come to
Malta, enticed by the dominant positive imaginaries of Europe:
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
11
There are I think 3,000 plus Nepalis here. … And still, they want to come here from Nepal.
Even my friends want to come. And I told them no. Don’t come. They want to spend [lots of
money], taking a loan from the bank. For what? (I7, male)
Partially due to their disappointment with the country, some Nepalis leave Malta for
other European destinations such as Portugal, France, Spain or Germany. The interviewees however had gradually adapted to their new reality in Malta and often decided to
stay, at least for now:
I2, female: For money, it’s … good. The place I don’t like much. … When I first came from
the airport, I cried. Because the buildings are so old! … My expectation was so nice.
I3, female: She had thought Malta would look like Dubai [where I2 had lived previously].
I2, female: But now I’m used to it. Now it’s okay.
Destination hierarchies and migration aspirations
These vivid expressions elucidate how geographical imaginaries are always constructed
in relation to other places, and thereby attain a hierarchical value and position in
people’s destination cosmologies. Apart from notions of development – for most participants epitomised in infrastructure and material abundance—, these place rankings were
often based on the economic opportunities they offered to participants.
We worked [in Nepal] as well, but they never paid us in the right way. … At the end of the
month, they will say “next month we are paying double”. And so we had to wait all the time.
… So we decided, if we can work 12 hours under pressure [in Nepal], why don’t we go
abroad and work there. (I13, female)
In Gulf countries, the salary is very little. Around 200-300 Euro [per month]. … If you go
there or to Europe, or another country: it’s the same job! But you have a good salary
here. (I9, male)
The economic dimension tended to be dominant in the destination rankings of participants. Many strived to provide a comfortable, stable income for their families, alleviate
financial problems they and their relatives faced, or pay for their (future) children’s education at private schools. Interestingly, participants also mentioned aspirations of social
and residential mobility of the family within Nepal, which related to the different economic opportunities at destinations:
I have only one thing on my mind: I try to move my family from my village to the city.
Because in the village, life is very difficult. … And I am trying to build a small house in
city. … Those who have family members in Europe move to the city. … They have a nice
house. … Those who have family members in the Gulf have a nice house, but they cannot
move [to the city]. Because if we move to the city, we need to spend a lot of money. We
have to buy land, build a house. (I6, male)
Similarly, many interviewees pointed out the differences between destinations in permanent residence and family reunification rights. Participants did not even discuss such
rights in the context of the major destinations in the Gulf and Malaysia, given their extremely restrictive policies and a dominant negative narrative about them as countries to
live in, rather than just temporarily work in. In contrast, permanent status or family
12
J. NEUBAUER
reunification was often associated with migration to Europe and other Western destinations, misrepresenting the policy reality in Malta. However, interviewees often knew
they could move to another Schengen country with more liberal policies without
having to pass border controls or apply for another visa. This option was perceived as
a major advantage given the extraordinary difficulty for Nepalis to access Schengen
countries directly from Nepal. Some claimed they had made plans to move onwards
from Malta even before they had arrived in the country.
Another important dimension along which participants ranked destinations was the
social prestige linked to certain destinations. ‘If you are in a good country, a European
country or Australia, the way they look at your family is different. You see all kinds of
respect’ (I1, female). Having a family member at a Western destination thus carried
social status in itself, irrespective of the economic payoff: ‘They don’t care if I have a
good salary [here]. … They care about the country. [They will say] “Oh they’re in
Europe!” … And with someone who’s in America, “wow, her daughter or her son is in
America!”’ (I9, male).
Interviewees also commonly compared potential destinations based on what they
knew or assumed about working conditions. They often spoke of the harsh conditions
most Nepalis faced on their jobs in Malaysia and the Gulf:
You see, Arab people, the rich ones, they don’t consider other people, less people, the poor
ones. Because you know, how many people have died in Saudi, Qatar, Nepalese people. A
lot, a lot of people have died. (I4, male)
Because [in Gulf countries] … they treat people like machines. (I2, female)
The negative imaginaries of destinations in West Asia are also nurtured by increasingly
negative media coverage, spotlighting (sexual) abuse and severely restricted freedoms of
Nepali workers – particularly female domestic workers.
We heard this news as well sometimes. … Some girls talk with a journalist and say “my boss
did this behaviour, the experience was very bad. We have to stay all the time with the family,
and we cannot go out without permission.” With [the family], just with them, they can go
out. Otherwise … like in a cage! (I12, female)
Many contrasted these negative notions of the Gulf with the freedoms and gender equality they had imagined in Europe, and often found in Malta:
For girls in Dubai, I heard, you are not allowed to wear shorts, except in the main city. …
Here you can do whatever you want. … At least you feel a bit of equality. … There is discrimination, but not like in other countries, you know. Like, in Arab countries, or in
Nepal. (I1, female)
To some female participants, gender equality, freedom and safety were particularly
important dimensions in their destination hierarchy. Some younger participants also
talked about the asphyxiating social control they experienced at home, which restricted
them in their lifestyle choices:
Because in Nepal, we have to ask for permission for each and everything … [And] we Nepali
girls, in Nepal, if we go out, and then if our neighbour sees us, they will gossip everywhere:
“Look, her daughter is going out and coming [home] so late at night!” And my mom is so
worried all the time, like “if you go like this, people will talk, talk, talk.” Because society,
people are like that. (I13, female)
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
13
Moving to Malta with a group of close friends promised the opportunity to explore
different lifestyles outside the grip of authority figures. ‘Here, there is no restriction,
you know? Because we four are here. And … we have to decide what is wrong, what is
bad, and we can enjoy our lives. … No one is there’ (I14, female). In this regard, they
not only preferred Malta due to the increased individual liberties they had associated
with Europe, but also because it was a new destination for Nepalis: most did not have
family members in Malta, unlike in more established destinations. This allowed them
to better control the information their families received about their lifestyles in Malta.
Such more individualistic aspirations linked to exploration, curiosity and experience
were a common theme among younger interviewees, particularly those economically
better off:
It’s not economic. … We had land, if I want to work, we can [make a living] by working
there as well. And I decided to go myself. At least I will visit abroad once. I will see how
it is, right? And I will come back here, and I start my own business. (I7, male)
I wanted to look at other countries, experience them. … To experiment, and then make a
stable future. (I17, female)
This thrill of adventure helps to understand why many opted for a new and distant destination, where they did not have any friends or relatives. When asked whether she was
not worried about moving to such a far-away place, one interviewee replied: ‘No, I was
excited! Because it was a new place, new friends. First travel. First time, to [experience]
the European society, the European system’ (I18, female).
Indeed, for some young interviewees the main point was to ‘go abroad’, with the
specific destination being of secondary concern.
When I was in Nepal, I was always thinking: how do I go. How do I go abroad. … Whatever
country, I don’t care, but I want to go. … I need to go abroad. (I6, male)
When you are young, but old enough to handle yourself, and if you want to be independent,
you travel. Like, you have to go. … If you can’t go to Europe, go somewhere! You have to go
somewhere … to say, “Yes, I’m abroad”. (I1, female)
Here, migration becomes a project, an important part of identity formation and maturity,
a rite of passage into adulthood (see Carling and Schewel 2018; Mbodji 2008). When
pressed, however, interviewees always had clear destination preferences, despite the
apparent priority on migration itself. The extent to which they felt accomplished for
their migration project was contingent on the destination they had managed to reach.
Destination tiers and the emergence of a new middle tier
What emerges from these narratives and imaginaries is not just a landscape of geographical imaginaries – destination cosmologies –, but one that has clear hierarchical qualities.
Interviewees ranked locations based on different dimensions such as development, economic opportunities, working and living conditions, safety and freedoms, residence rights
and duration, and social status, resulting in rather rigid destination hierarchies. By and
large, these hierarchies were highly consistent across interviewees. Two main groups of
established destinations can be distinguished, despite subtle differences between
countries within groups: a lower tier consisting of the traditional labour destinations
14
J. NEUBAUER
India, Malaysia and countries in the Gulf, and an upper tier of wealthy Western destinations in Europe, North America and Oceania and Japan.
The distinction between the two tiers was almost ubiquitous in the destination
cosmologies of interviewees, regardless of their backgrounds. It was also reflected in
the discourse: while upper-tier destinations were collectively characterised as ‘good’,
‘nice’, ‘big’ and ‘developed’ countries, lower-tier destinations were often referred to as
‘bad’, ‘not nice’ or ‘dangerous’ countries. For destinations in the Gulf, participants sometimes also used the terms ‘Arab’, ‘Muslim’ or ‘Asian’ in a pejorative way: ‘Here is
freedom, Europe. Arab, not freedom’ (I11, female). Besides being extremely common
among participants, many interviewees argued there was a universal preference for
these upper-tier destinations in Nepal: ‘Europe is our dreamland. That’s true! Nobody
wants to go to Gulf countries. Nobody likes Dubai, Qatar, Saudi. That’s why we came
here’ (I24, male).
These narratives strongly reverberate with Kölbel’s (2020) account of the discursive
separation between labour migration to traditional destinations and student migration
to the West and Japan among young Nepalis in Kathmandu. It also concurs with
recent groupings of common destinations for Nepalis by GDP per capita, migrant
wages and migration costs, as well as perceived popularity among Nepali migrants
(Valenta 2022; Valenta and Garvik 2023).6
How does Malta fit into this two-tiered destination hierarchy? Due to its association
with Europe and spatial imaginary spillover, many interviewees saw Malta closer to the
upper tier. However, the lower salary, level of development, size of the country and
economy, dearth of nature such as mountains and forests, limited opportunities for
long-term residence and Malta’s low renown compared to established destinations of
the upper tier led many interviewees to voice a clear preference for established uppertier destinations over Malta. Consequently, Malta was ranked somewhat lower than
other Western countries, placing it in between the two major groups. When prompted
about other emerging destinations in Southern and Eastern Europe such as Poland,
Czech Republic, Romania, Portugal or Cyprus, interviewees usually placed them in a
similarly interjacent position. As such, these novel destinations form a new, emerging
middle tier in the destination hierarchy. They were often not the first choice or ‘dream
destination’ of participants, in particular for those who had previously unsuccessfully
tried to move to ‘big countries’ such as the US or Australia. Yet, they are much more
accessible than upper-tier destinations, as the work visas offered by these new destinations tend to be much cheaper and have fewer requirements. This makes them attractive destinations for those Nepalis who wish to migrate to Europe but do not meet the
educational requirements or lack the financial means to realise a migration to uppertier destinations via the student visa route. It also opens avenues to Europe for those
who had previously worked in traditional labour destinations and never considered a
move to Europe possible.
A cautionary note is due. This rather crude grouping of destinations brushes over
more subtle differences within each group that participants voiced. For instance,
Dubai was often seen as a premium within the lower tier, where Nepali workers had
more freedoms and higher salaries. Some interviewees also stated to prefer a certain destination over another that is usually ranked higher. For instance, two friends explained
how their initial preference for a ‘big country’ in the upper tier changed because of the
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
15
necessity to migrate via a student visa, implying a double burden they did not want to
accept: ‘Because here, we only work. But … they have to study and work. They have to
[balance] the two at the same time’ (I14, female). Yet, such varying individual preferences
relating to specific dimensions do not disqualify the broader and highly consistent hierarchical landscape of imagined destinations, and the interjacent middle position of Malta
and other new European destinations within it.
Discussion and conclusion
This article set out to uncover how people imagine new and unknown destinations, and
how these imaginaries interact with their migration aspirations and destination preferences. Drawing from interviews with Nepali migrants in Malta, it shed light on how participants imagined Malta – a new destination for Nepalis – before their migration.
Participants subconsciously drew extensively from imaginaries of larger and betterknown European countries to imagine Malta and contextualise the information they
obtained, in a mechanism I call spatial imaginary spillover. This transfer of imaginaries
was bridged via participants’ construct of Europe, an often-vague concept carrying
specific associations such as high levels of wealth and (infrastructural) development, individual freedoms and rights, safety, mobility and long-term settlement.
Spatial imaginary spillover gave rise to imaginaries and expectations of Malta that
were sometimes close, but often far from what participants found upon arriving in
Malta. There is some evidence of spatial imaginary spillover in other studies on migration
to new destinations. For instance, Pereira et al. (2021) discuss how Nepalis working in the
Portuguese agricultural sector were shocked about the working and living conditions
upon arrival, as they had had very different expectations of ‘a European life, respectable
job and everything’ (quoted participant, 506). Similarly, a recent study quotes European
migration practitioners noting that non-EU migrants tend to equate Europe with
countries in Northern and Western Europe, and often express stark disappointment
with the conditions they encountered in Greece, Bulgaria or Cyprus (Bermejo and Carrasco 2021). As spatial imaginary spillover critically relies on imaginaries from elsewhere,
the gap between prior imaginaries and actual experiences of unknown places is often particularly wide. For migrants, this seems to frequently cause surprises and unmet expectations at newer destinations.
While these insights are valuable in their own right, they are also highly informative to
better understand the decision-making of migrants, given the decisive role geographical
imaginaries, cosmologies and destination hierarchies play in this process (Belloni 2022;
Paul 2011; Salazar 2011). To revert to the opening quote, the notion of spatial imaginary
spillover helps to understand how even in the absence of circulating imaginaries people
never decide to move to a destination without first forming at least some basic imaginaries thereof. This occurs both through gathering information and via spillovers from
conceptually adjacent destinations. Though people may only be able to vaguely envision
such new destinations, they may still choose to move there if the formed imaginaries are
ranked higher than those of other destination options, or if they align closer with people’s
individual aspirations.
Importantly, spatial imaginary spillover is not a mechanism exclusive to countries.
Conceptually, it can also explain the production of imaginaries of unknown towns,
16
J. NEUBAUER
villages or neighbourhoods, where attributes are cognitively transferred from a more
familiar place within the same larger unit (country, region, city, etc.). Notably, these attributes may be evaluated positively or negatively. Thus, the concept contributes to the literature on geographical imaginaries and place representations by helping to explain how
these take shape and interact.
In its capacity to affect migration decisions and physical moves, spatial imaginary spillover has tangible, material consequences beyond the imaginative and discursive realm.
The article demonstrates how imaginaries of other places interact with spotty information of ‘the unknown’ and people’s aspirations to produce visions and expectations
that eventually propel migration. Despite the disparities between these visions and
experiences upon arrival, many still opted to adapt to the circumstances and stay.
Further, the weight of the collective imaginaries of Europe and the desire of many
migrants to portray their migration as a success perpetuates the imaginaries among
Nepalis and inspires additional migrations to Malta, even after the Nepali community
had grown substantially in the country. These insights speak to a renewed interest in
geography in the material consequences (or ‘force’) of imaginaries and representations
of places (Anderson 2019). The article spotlights migration and mobility as quintessential
physical manifestations of place representations and sheds light on how representations
of one place may drive (or inhibit) migration to another, via spatial imaginary spillover.
The article also emphasises the inherently relational nature of geographical imaginaries. Imaginaries of Malta need to be understood as relative to other destinations and
home, which Nepalis compare and rank in hierarchies based on dimensions of opportunity and desirability. Participants drew a clear line between a desirable upper tier of
wealthy destinations in the West and in East Asia and a lower tier of traditional
labour destinations in West Asia, Malaysia and India. This distinction not only
concurs with prior research on destination hierarchies among Nepalis (Kölbel 2020;
Valenta 2022) but also bears striking similarities to the hierarchies found in other
parts of the world (Paul 2011). This suggests that broader destination hierarchies tend
to reflect structural inequalities between destinations with respect to economic opportunities, rights, mobility and thus, social status attainable for migrants, contingent on their
class and level of formal education. However, as initially observed by Paul (2011), the
accessibility of destinations tends to be the inverse of these very hierarchies, which
further increases the prestige linked to successful migration to higher-ranking
destinations.
In line with these patterns, participants overwhelmingly placed Malta and other emerging destinations in Southern and Eastern Europe in a new middle tier of destinations,
below more established destinations in the West, but above and clearly distinct from traditional labour destinations. Given the high costs and difficulties of obtaining (student)
visas for better-known destinations in West and East Asia, these hierarchies explain why
Nepalis increasingly choose new European destinations where access through work visas
is easier, faster and cheaper. Whilst contributing to emerging research on increasing
labour migration from South Asia to Eastern and Southern Europe (Mendoza, Florczak,
and Nepal 2020; Pereira et al. 2021), these findings also point to a potential transformation of the segmented two-tiered migration system in Nepal. In this manner, they
provide novel conceptual insights on how new destinations are integrated into destination cosmologies and hierarchies, which may transform dynamically as a result.
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
17
Finally, the article analysed participants’ migration aspirations through the lens of
geographical imaginaries. Interviewees often aspired to a more economically comfortable
and stable life for themselves and their families, upward social mobility, or a family house
in one of the cities – notably, all within Nepal. Yet, these aspirations necessitate capital
difficult to accumulate in Nepal, and the imagined economic opportunities in Europe
were seen as a solution. Similarly, the individual liberties, safety, settlement and mobility
options many sought in the Western world were perceived unattainable within the imaginaries held of traditional labour destinations and Nepal. For some, migration also had a
more intrinsic value, where social prestige or a desire to explore is tied to the act of
migration itself, and preferably to destinations in the West. These insights highlight
how migration aspirations are inextricably linked to geographical imaginaries, and
how these imaginaries offer a rich emic lens to better understand migration aspirations
and decision-making.
Notes
1. International Organization for Migration, United Nations.
2. Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Government of Nepal.
3. This article uses the term ‘Western countries’ or ‘the West’ to refer to countries in Europe,
North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
4. Third-country national here refers to any person who does not hold a citizenship from an
EU or Schengen member country.
5. Throughout the article, some grammatical corrections to quotes were made for ease of
reading, without altering the meaning or emphasis of the participants’ statements.
6. Note that Valenta and Garvik (2023) make a further distinction between India and Malaysia
and GCC countries: India ranks the lowest, with the lowest migration costs and wages.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the participants for sharing their thoughts, aspirations and experiences with
me. My gratitude also goes to Simona Vezzoli, Yentl de Lange, Julia Kirmes-Daly, Afroditi Konstantopoulou, Sorcha Lyne, research cluster participants at the University for Continuing Education Krems, and two anonymous reviewers for their useful feedback on this article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
The work was supported indirectly through an Erasmus + traineeship grant from the European
Union, and a study scholarship from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Germany.
Ethical approval
Ethical approval was granted by the thesis supervisor as part of the research master’s programme at the University of Amsterdam.
18
J. NEUBAUER
ORCID
Josef Neubauer
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4556-0573
References
Anderson, B. 2019. “Cultural Geography II: The Force of Representations.” Progress in Human
Geography 43 (6): 1120–1132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132518761431.
Appadurai, A. 1996. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis, MN:
University of Minnesota Press.
Belloni, M. 2022. “Cosmologies and Migration: On Worldviews and Their Influence on Mobility
and Immobility.” Identities 29 (5): 557–575. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2020.1748357
Bermejo, R., and S. Carrasco. 2021. Multi-Perspective Research Report (PERCEPTIONS
Deliverable D3.5). https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/833870/results.
Bonnici, J. 2018. “Changes to Work Permits Bringing 2,000 New Visas Per Month - Muscat.” July
6. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2018-07-06/local-news/
Changes-to-work-permits-bringing-2-000-new-visas-per-month-Muscat-6736193004.
Buttigieg, E., and D. DeBono. 2015. Country Report on Citizenship Law: Malta (Robert Schuman
Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-CR 2015/5).
Carling, J., and K. Schewel. 2018. “Revisiting Aspiration and Ability in International Migration.”
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44 (6): 945–963. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.
2017.1384146.
DeBono, D. 2013. Naturalisation Procedures for Immigrants: Malta (Robert Schuman Centre for
Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-NP 2013/30).
Dex, S. 1995. “The Reliability of Recall Data: A Literature Review.” Bulletin of Sociological
Methodology 49 (1): 58–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/075910639504900105.
Driver, F. 2014. “Imaginative Geographies.” In Introducing Human Geographies, edited by P.
Cloke, P. Crang, and M. Goodwin, 3rd ed., Vol. 19, 447–485. London: Routledge.
Eurostat. 2023a. All Valid Permits by Reason, Length of Validity and Citizenship on 31 December of
Each Year. Accessed November 8, 2023. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/
migr_resvalid.
Eurostat. 2023b. First Permit by Reason, Length of Validity and Citizenship. Accessed November 8,
2023. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/migr_resfirst.
Gardner, A. 2012. “Why Do They Keep Coming? Labor Migrants in the Gulf States Migrant Labor
in the Persian Gulf.” In Migrant Labor in the Persian Gulf, edited by M. Kamrava, and Z. Babar,
41–58. London: Hurst & Company.
Hagen-Zanker, J., and G. Hennessey. 2021. What Do We Know about the Subjective and Intangible
Factors That Shape Migration Decision-Making? A Review of the Literature from Low and Middle
Income Countries (PRIO Paper No. 2021).
IOM. 2019. Migration in Nepal: A Country Profile 2019. Kathmandu: International Organization
for Migration.
Kalir, B. 2005. “The Development of a Migratory Disposition: Explaining a ‘New Emigration’.”
International Migration 43 (4): 167–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2005.00337.x.
Kandel, P. 2018. “Migration Certificate.” Nepali Times, October 21. Accessed July 25, 2021, https://
www.nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-certificate/.
Kölbel, A. 2020. In Search of a Future: Youth, Aspiration, and Mobility in Nepal. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Malla, B., and M. S. Rosenbaum. 2017. “Understanding Nepalese Labor Migration to Gulf
Countries.” Journal of Poverty 21 (5): 411–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/10875549.2016.1217578.
Malta Independent. 2017. “Almost 38,000 Foreigners Registered to Work in Malta; Most Are EU
Citizens.” Malta Independent, October 11. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://www.independent.
com.mt/articles/2017-10-11/local-news/Almost-38-000-foreigners-registered-to-work-inMalta-most-are-EU-citizens-6736180132.
JOURNAL OF ETHNIC AND MIGRATION STUDIES
19
Mandal, C. K. 2018. “Focus on Six Euro Nations.” The Kathmandu Post, August 17. Accessed April
22, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/08/17/focus-on-six-euro-nations.
Mandal, C. K. 2019a. “After Gulf and Malaysia, Nepal Reaches out to Europe to Send Its Workers
There.” The Kathmandu Post, July 29. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/
national/2019/07/27/after-gulf-and-malaysia-nepal-reaches-out-to-europe-to-send-itsworkers-there.
Mandal, C. K. 2019b. “As Opportunities for Nepali Workers Dry Up in Popular Labour
Destinations, Migration Numbers Dwindle.” The Kathmandu Post, August 14. Accessed July
28,
2021.
https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/08/14/as-opportunities-for-nepaliworkers-dry-up-in-popular-labour-destinations-migration-numbers-dwindle.
Mandal, C. K. 2021. “Israel Set to Start Taking in Nepali Caregivers Soon.” The Kathmandu Post,
July 21. Accessed July 28, 2021. https://kathmandupost.com/national/2021/07/21/israel-set-tostart-taking-in-nepali-caregivers-soon.
Martin, I. 2017. “Thousands More Foreign Workers Are Needed to Keep Economy on Track.”
Times of Malta, August 27. Accessed May 21, 2022. https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/
more-foreigners-are-needed-to-build-the-economic-railroad.656537.
Mbodji, M. 2008. “Imaginaires et migrations: Le cas du Senegal.” In Le Sénégal des migrations:
mobilités, identités et sociétés, edited by M.-C. Diop, 305–320. Paris: Karthala.
Mendoza, D. R., I. Florczak, and R. Nepal. 2020. Shifting Labor Frontiers: The Recruitment of South
Asian Migrant Workers to the European Union. Amsterdam: Mondiaal FNV.
Minghuan, L. 2012. “Making a Living at the Interface of Legality and Illegality: Chinese Migrant
Workers in Israel.” International Migration 50 (2): 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.
2008.00508.x.
MOLESS. 2020. Nepal Labour Migration Report 2020. Kathmandu: Government of Nepal.
Paul, A. M. 2011. “Stepwise International Migration: A Multistage Migration Pattern for the
Aspiring Migrant.” American Journal of Sociology 116 (6): 1842–1886. https://doi.org/10.
1086/659641.
Pelican, M., and P. Tatah. 2009. “Migration to the Gulf States and China: Local Perspectives from
Cameroon.” African Diaspora 2 (2): 229–244. https://doi.org/10.1163/187254509X12477244375210.
Pereira, C., A. Pereira, A. Budal, S. Dahal, J. Daniel-Wrabetz, J. Meshelemiah, and R. P. Pires. 2021.
“‘If you Don’t Migrate, You’re a Nobody’: Migration Recruitment Networks and Experiences of
Nepalese Farm Workers in Portugal.” Journal of Rural Studies 88:500–509. https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.jrurstud.2021.04.019.
Salazar, N. B. 2011. “The Power of Imagination in Transnational Mobilities.” Identities 18 (6): 576–
598. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2011.672859.
Seddon, D. 2005. “Nepal’s Dependence on Exporting Labor.” Migration Information Source,
January 1. Accessed December 8, 2020. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/nepals-dependence-exporting-labor/
Sharma, J. R. 2008. “Practices of Male Labor Migration from the Hills of Nepal to India in
Development Discourses: Which Pathology?” Gender, Technology and Development 12 (3):
303–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/097185240901200302.
Sharma, J. R. 2011. The Impact of Environmental Change on Labour Migration from Nepal to the
Gulf States. Foresight. London: UK Government Office for Science.
Shaw, J. 2010. “From Kuwait to Korea: The Diversification of Sri Lankan Labour Migration.”
Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy 15 (1): 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860903488237.
Suban, R., and D. Zammit. 2011. Satisfying Labour Demand Through Migration in Malta. Valetta:
European Migration Network.
Thieme, S. 2017. “Educational Consultants in Nepal: Professionalization of Services for Students
who Want to Study Abroad.” Mobilities 12 (2): 243–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.
2017.1292780.
Thieme, S., and S. Wyss. 2005. “Migration Patterns and Remittance Transfer in Nepal: A Case
Study of Sainik Basti in Western Nepal.” International Migration 43 (5): 59–98. https://doi.
org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2005.00342.x.
20
J. NEUBAUER
Thompson, M. 2017. “Migration Decision-Making: A Geographical Imaginations Approach.”
Area 49 (1): 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12292.
Thornton, A., J. Swindle, P. Bhandari, L. Young-DeMarco, N. Williams, and C. Hughes. 2022.
“Developmental Idealism and Migration: Theorizing Their Relationship and an Empirical
Example from Nepal.” Migration and Development 11 (3): 818–851. https://doi.org/10.1080/
21632324.2020.1837534.
Valenta, M. 2022. “Itinerant Labour: Conceptualising Circular, Serial and Stepwise Migrations to
the Arab Gulf and Onwards.” Migration and Development 11 (3): 674–696. https://doi.org/10.
1080/21632324.2020.1810897.
Valenta, M., and M. Garvik. 2023. “The Dynamic of Stepwise Migrations of Nepalese High-Skilled
Migrants via the Middle East.” Contemporary South Asia 31 (4): 547–566. https://doi.org/10.
1080/09584935.2023.2271861
Valentin, K. 2015. “Transnational Education and the Remaking of Social Identity: Nepalese
Student Migration to Denmark.” Identities 22 (3): 318–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/
1070289X.2014.939186.
Vammen, I. M. S. 2019. “New Contested Borderlands: Senegalese Migrants en Route to
Argentina.” Comparative Migration Studies 7 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-0180109-z.
Winders, J. 2014. “New Immigrant Destinations in Global Context.” International Migration
Review 48 (1_suppl): 149–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12140.