Turkish Marriage Migration to the Netherlands: Policy vs. Migrants' Perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT Turkish migrants form the largest group of people with a non-Western foreign background in the Netherlands. Family and in particular marriage migration has been the most important motive for migration to the Netherlands for this group for decades. Since the early 2000s Dutch migration policy has been aimed at reducing this phenomenon, by introducing stricter criteria for entrance and integration of spouses coming from abroad. This article examines how and to what extent Turkish migrant women and their families have been influenced by this policy context in their decision making and migration experience. The interview data we gathered in 2006 from Turkish women and Dutch policy actors reveal that the requirement for the resident partner to have a labour contract with a minimum duration of one year constituted an important nodal point in the migration process. In general, the migrant data suggest restriction resulted in either temporary illegal immigration and postponement, or anticipation, i.e. migrating before the changes in policy take effect. On the other hand, the policy actors, while confirming anticipation, also claimed the presence of other strategies, in particular the use of fictitious labour contracts and alternative migration routes. Furthermore the article suggests that while policy programmes emphasise the importance of Dutch language aptitude, migrants did not perceive integration to depend (solely) upon this. From their perspective, economic conditions, both as perceived prior to migration, and as experienced while living in the Netherlands, affected both their migration decision and integration process.