Policy Dimensions of Retirement Migration from Germany to the Turkish Riviera: Comparing German and German-Turkish Older Migrants

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with examining how retirement migrants from Germany, who have chosen the Turkish Mediterranean as a retirement destination, confront complex policy landscapes that are associated with their transnational ageing practices and their needs for care and support. Comparing German-Turkish retirees who have spent their working lives as labour migrants in Germany with German retirees who first came to Turkey as tourists, we examine how both groups perceive and navigate the constraints and opportunities that are associated with different nation-state arrangements and migration regimes in both countries. We focus on three different policy dimensions that are of fundamental significance for both groups, namely, healthcare and long-term care provisions, as well as border regimes and their policies regarding residence permits for migrants. We show that while both groups manage to navigate healthcare opportunities in both countries expertly, they exhibit significant differences when it comes to questions of long-term care, and face varying insecurities that are associated with changing migration regimes and policies in both countries.