Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the experiences and position of Filipinos in Iceland in a local and global context. It shows how processes of racialization as well as gendered and ethnic categorizations affect their experiences and their strategies when settling in Iceland.

Paper long abstract:

The ability of individuals to move across borders differs greatly in a world characterized by inequality and a gendered division of labor. These inequalities affect people's abilities to migrate as well as their prospects in the destination country. The paper examines the migration of Filipinos to Iceland. It depicts the barriers they face, such as legal and regulatory hindrances, as well as limitations in terms of the kinds of jobs that are available for them upon arrival. The paper shows how migration for the reasons of marriage, family reunion and work are not always easily dismantled in their narratives and that their experiences are contradictory. This is a migration trajectory that sheds light racialization processes as well as on the gendered and ethnic related processes of global restructurings (Marchand & Runyan 2010; Glick Schiller 2010). The discussion is based upon the findings of ethnographic research in Iceland and the Philippines. Applying a multi sited ethnography and transnational perspective it focuses on the different conditions that affect people's migration options as well as their views towards their work and migration.