La famille : une source de légitimité pour les immigrés après la retraite ? Le cas des Espagnols et des Italiens en Suisse

Abstract

The Family, a Source of Legitimacy for Immigrants after their Retirement ? The case of the Spanish and Italians in Switzerland. Claudio Bolzman, Rosita Fibbi et Marie Vial. At the present time a new phenomena is emerging in Europe : immigrant workers who came to different countries during the fifties and sixties are reaching retirement age. Starting from this fact, this paper deals with two issues : on the one hand, we analyse the process of settling down of immigrants in the residence country and the place of the family in this process ; on the other hand, we study the influence of the family upon the future projects of the first generation of Italian and Spaniards near retirement age, particularly with respect to their projected country of residence. We are especially interested in the issue of return migration : is it an inexorable consequence of retirement from labour market, or does family represent, through its presence and help, a resource for elderly migrants, allowing them to take their place in the resident society ? We try to answer to these questions using data form three surveys we have carried out about persons from Italian and Spanish origin in Switzerland.