MOLDOVAN LABOR MIGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The article gives a characteristic of Moldovan labor migration into the European Union. The authors show that Moldovan labor migration into the EU begins in the second half of the 1990’s. Since the late 1990’s – the early 2000’s, it acquires a mass character. The main reasons of Moldovan migration into the European Union are economic reasons. The factors that determine the choice of country for labor migration are varied. These are the desire to earn more money and to provide the growth of welfare for themselves and their family; lingual proximity; the presence of social capital, and others.. The different forms of infiltration and stay in the EU that are used by the Moldovan labor migrants are uncovered. Among these, tourist visas, illegal border crossings, illegal employment and legal individual and collective labor contracts, labor quotas, the visa-free regime and labor visas are noted. The process of formation of Moldovan communities in the EU is becoming massive since the 2000’s. The most attractive countries for Moldovan labor migration are Italy, Germany, France, the UK, Spain, Czechia, and Portugal. Italy is the absolute leader in attracting Moldovan labor migrants. The formation of Moldovan communities in the EU corresponds to world practice: starting with the familiarization with the capital cities, the migrants gradually familiarize themselves with the accepting country’s other regions. The Moldovan communities form primarily through the presence of labor migrants of young ages. Typical, especially on the early stage, is the clearly de-fined gender direction, conditioned by the requirements of the labor market in the destination countries. The consolidation of migrant communities leads to the expansion of the range of age structure and to the leveling of the sex/ gender structure of the Moldovan communities. Male Moldovan labor migrants are mainly engaged in constructions, women – in the field of housekeeping and nursing services. Gradually, the field of their labor activity expands; they work in different fields, including prestigious and highly paid ones. Among the Moldovan labor migrants, there is also a growth in the number of businessmen. However, even today, most migrants are engaged in work that is of lower status than their actual education and qualification. An analysis of the main trends of Moldovan labor migration into the European Union shows that Moldovan migrants are demonstrating their desire to integrate into the accepting society, to transform their status from illegal into legal, from unqualified into professional status, that corresponds to their level of education, qualification, and experience of labor activity. Among the Moldovan labor migrants there is an increasing number of people in possession of double and triple citizenship. There is a clear tendency to obtain the citizenship of the country of residence. From labor migrants they turn into labor emigrants, their future plans and strategies change. They are striving to become full-fledged citizens of their new homeland, and have no desire to return to Moldova. The EU visa-free regime with the Republic of Moldova is creating new possibilities for Moldovan labor migration into EU countries. The amount of Moldovan short-term labor migrants into EU countries in the conditions of the visa-free regime has increased more than twice. Temporary stay in the accepting country and labor activity, as a rule, does not alter the decision to return home with the majority of the short-term Moldovan migrants.