International Migration Institute

Oana Romocea presents her paper 'Transformative stages of migrant identity' in Parallel session VI(C) of the conference Examining Migration Dynamics: Networks and Beyond, 24-26 Sept 2013 Part of my doctoral research, the present paper aims to explore how migrant identity transforms over time in response to political and social changes. For the purpose of this study, I conducted in-depth interviews with first-generation Romanian migrants settled in the UK over the last half a century. Using the timing and reason of their relocation, I identified three sub-groups: pre-1989 political refugees, post-1989 knowledge diaspora and post-1989 labour migrants. The study is both a diachronic and synchronic analysis which follows the identity transformation, dynamism and re-adaptation of the Romanian migrant community. I argue that political and social changes have led to major identity shifts within the migrant community at both individual and collective level. If before the 1989 revolution, the Romanians settled in the