Ageing as a migrant: vulnerabilities, agency and policy implications

Abstract

This paper starts with a short review of the growing literature on the topic of older migrants, particularly in relation to this population’s diversity, social vulnerability, loneliness, (transnational) care and support networks. It then introduces the collection of papers of this special issue by proposing an approach to studying older migrants as social actors who develop strategies to surpass vulnerabilities. Older migrants mobilise their resources while taking into account structural opportunities and restrictions from the meso and macro levels. Hence their strategies are placed at the intersection between family obligations and resources, social networks, and migration and care regimes. Such an interdisciplinary and multi-level model acknowledges the heterogeneity of older migrants. The paper concludes with a discussion of the research results that have implications for policies targeting the growing population of older migrants.