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Paper short abstract:

In this paper I will explore the uncertainties in regular migration. I will focus on the ways in which Turkish migrant doctors and their family members deal with the social, emotional, and economic implications of uncertainty in the course of their migrations to contemporary Germany.

Paper long abstract:

For many Turkish doctors, who recently came through EU Blue Card programme to Germany, life seems to be fraught with uncertainties. They share the experience that the programme does not always and straightforwardly deliver on its promises. They share the uncertainties of their privileged mobility: they have discovered that even after having been granted a visa, they may face the threat of enforced return to Turkey in case that their application for approbation is denied, or they fail the medical German examination (Fachsprachprüfung), or their temporary medical license (Berufserlaubnis) cannot be issued or must be withdrawn on a variety of grounds. It is also not uncommon that their families are forced to wait in uncertainty for many months for family reunification. Uncertainty can be felt at the beginning of migration as an exceptional situation but the longer it lasts, the greater the chance that it will become part of everyday life, where even simple quotidian decisions must be carefully considered. Uncertainty may appear in different forms and it is an individually and collectively different experience. Uncertainties that regular migrants experience have received less attention in anthropological literature on migration. In this presentation, I will demonstrate the ways in which Turkish migrant doctors and their family members deal with the social, emotional, and economic implications of uncertainty in the course of their migrations to Germany.