Transnational families are families whose members remain in their country of origin while one or more family members migrate to other countries. Since the end of the 1990s, this phenomenon has increasingly been the focus of academic research. However, up until now only a limited number of studies have comprehensively dealt with transnational family arrangements in the context of forced migration. Both the original decision to migrate and the situation in the destination country depend not only on the migrants themselves, but also on their family context. The aim of the project is therefore to investigate the relationship between different family arrangements as well as the changes caused by the migration and the lives of refugees in Germany.
The project, carried out in cooperation with the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, analyses the forms, structures and spatial dispersion of transnational families. In addition, not only the initial formation of transnational families will be examined, but also subsequent changes in family arrangements, such as staying in the destination country, onward migration or returning to the country of origin as well as family reunification practices. The geographic separation of individual family members induced by migration may change the relationships within a family: the project will therefore also examine how relationships with the family members back in the country of origin are maintained and which family exchange and support processes exist. Furthermore, the interactions between family arrangements and social networks and social integration in Germany will be investigated.
News and more information about TransFAR can be found on the project's own website.
This project is based on a quantitative survey of female and male refugees aged 18 to 45 who emigrated from Eritrea and Syria to Germany during the last six years. The empirical study therefore focuses on two countries that have been particularly important regions of origin for recent migration dynamics in Germany and will most likely be crucial for future developments.
A two-step sampling technique based on the Central Register of Foreign Nationals (Ausländerzentralregister) is planned: In the first step, Foreigners' Registration Offices are selected and, in the second step, a random sample of individuals is drawn.
2017–2023
Project team at the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees: