Migrationserfarenheter : Före detta asylsökandes flyttningsmönster i Sverige

This paper explores the individual meanings behind the patterns of residential mobility of former asylum seekers in Sweden. While there are numerous studies of residential segregation and migration patterns amongst natives and immigrants alike, fewer have asked the actual patternmakers what driving forces lie behind their decisions to resettle. This study aims to put light on former asylum seekers’ specific experiences of their resettlements and whether the asylum process in itself affect later migration patterns during the life-course. Through in-depth interviews seven respondents told their life stories with focus on how and why they resettled during their time inSweden. The study showed how the structural factors that initiated their general migration patterns of frequent resettlements gave way over time to less frequent moves where life-course events were the main factors. The results indicate that the asylum process may indeed affect subsequent resettlements in so far that the first own accommodation type of area seem to be important to future residential area choices throughout the life-course. The findings should be of interest for further studies on a greater scale and to policy makers trying to counteract segregation in the metropolitan areas of Sweden in a time of increased refugee flows