Abstract
Based on a study of sub-Saharan students in Morocco, this paper addresses the relationship between international student mobility and high-skilled migration and analyses how the increasing movement of sub-Saharan students to Morocco contributes to Morocco's transition to being a country of immigration and to its integration into the sub-Saharan migratory system. By studying the migration trajectories of sub-Saharan students, the article shows how three factors influence the students' movement to Morocco: their aspirations to expatriate, their growing up in cultures of migration and the existence of social networks linking the students to Morocco. The experience of otherness in a transit and immigration country such as Morocco contributes further to the shaping of an identity as transmigrants among students who consider their stay in Morocco as a first step on a longer-term migration that might lead to a second emigration or a permanent settlement in Morocco.
Highlights
Since Mohammed VI became king in 1999, the Moroccan state has made significant efforts to become more involved on the African continent
Based on the study of sub-Saharan student mobility in Morocco, this paper addresses the relationship between international student mobility and high-skilled migration
The choice of Morocco as training country is due to the bilateral agreements between Morocco and sub-Saharan states but is influenced by the existence of social networks linking the students to the host country
Summary
Since Mohammed VI became king in 1999, the Moroccan state has made significant efforts to become more involved on the African continent. Since the late 1990s, trans-Saharan movements have been characterised by transit migration, and trade routes formerly taken by caravans have been used by lorries transporting migrants (Bredeloup and Pliez 2005: 6-7) These migrants aimed to reach Europe, they would stop in North African countries, including Morocco, sometimes for a considerable period of time. The number of sub-Saharan individuals living in Morocco is estimated to be comparatively small, the migration issue has recently entered the Moroccan public sphere. Alioua 2005; Escoffier 2009; Khachani 2006), older migration flows and circulations, which are increasing, have remained understudied This is the case, for instance, of sub-Saharan students whose number has recently increased in Morocco. The last part focuses on those aspects of student life, which could be seen as resembling migrant or even transmigrant life
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