Polish Graduates and British Citizenship: Amplification of the Potential Mobility Dynamics beyond Europe

Abstract

In light of the EU enlargements and a promise of unrestricted mobility within EU borders for European nationals, the opportunity was rapidly taken up in particular by young and highly educated Poles. However, some aspirant migrants wished to travel beyond EU borders and such individuals sought different strategies to migrate, including obtaining British citizenship and passports. The paper highlights the possibility of a go-stop-go mobility, which can be described as a stepped approach to citizenship, and a key feature of the new elite cohort of young European graduates, who use their European citizenship to obtain an alternative citizenship that acts as a passport literally and metaphorically to mobility beyond Europe.