The Transnationalisation of Older Care in Austria

Abstract

Transnationalisation in social care involves different dimensions: family members providing care across borders, care users travelling across borders for receiving care, and care providers travelling across borders for the delivery of care (Baldassar et al., 2007; Yeates, 2009; Zechner, 2008). The migration of care workers, more specifically workers providing long-term care (LTC), is the focus of this chapter. In this context, transnationalisation refers to both a considerable share of migrant workers in formal settings in nursing homes or in community care but also an increasing number of migrant care workers in private households, often employed in less formal settings. Austria is no exception in the growing transnationalisation of LTC. This chapter aims at exploring this trend, by (a) characterising the transnational dimension of LTC in Austria, (b) studying the determinants of transnationalisation and (c) investigating the implications of transnationalisation for the care regime.