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Paper short abstract

This communication addresses the issue of how to study informality and (im)mobility along the transnational social field of Romanian immigrants in Spain.

Paper long abstract

In the on-going research project ORBITS (MINECO-FEDER-CSO2015-68687-P) we study the social ties within a transnational social field of Romanian citizens in Spain. Drawing on the link-tracing approach followed by Mouw et al. (2014) for the transnational networks of Mexican migrants in the US, we intend to interview 600 Romanians in four sites: two Romanian enclaves in the Spanish Mediterranean coast (Castelló & Roquetas de Mar), and their places of origin in Romania (Dâmbovița & Bistrița-Năsăud, respectively). In addition, this methodology is combined with ethnographic methods as observant participation, in-depth interviews, network drawing and group discussions. This mixed methods approach, we argue, facilitates to implement a focused investigation on how (im)mobility and informality become entangled as livelihood strategies.