Citation

Kooy J, Bowman D. J. Ethn. Migr. Stud. 2019; 45(5): 693-710.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/1369183X.2018.1427563

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In Australia, nearly 30,000 asylum seekers have the legal right to work, but their temporary and conditional migration status exposes them to work-related precarity. This article draws on a small qualitative study that examined asylum seekers' experiences of seeking work and achieving economic security. Over an 18-month period, 29 semi-structured interviews with asylum seekers who had work rights in Australia were conducted. It provides insights into how restrictive immigration policies manufacture precarity through short-term, conditional visas, resulting in employer risk aversion, segmentation into insecure work, and in-work instability and mistreatment. Asylum seekers manage their experiences and feelings of pervasive insecurity through individual coping and survival strategies.

Language: en

Keywords

Asylum seekers; economic security; employment; migration; precarity