Transnational Activities and Immigrant Integration in Germany

Abstract

This chapter contextualizes the German case, gives a brief history of the German immigration experience in the second half of the twentieth century, and provides a descriptive account on the extent to which immigrants in Germany engage in transnational activities. The descriptive analyses reveal that the majority of first generation immigrants maintains ties with its country of origin, but the extent depends on the type of activity considered. Regular visits to the country of origin are common, most of them, however, do not exceed periods of 1–3 months and there is no intergenerational decline in visiting. Second generation immigrants visit their (parents’) country of origin as often as first generation immigrants do. Sending remittances, on the other hand, is much less common among first generation immigrants in Germany and is rare among the second generation. Further descriptive analyses show substantial differences with regard to immigrants’ countries of origins. Those groups which appear most disadvantaged, e.g. immigrants of Turkish descent, are also transnationally most active.