Contemporary Emigration from Latvia to the United Kingdom

In this book, I examine contemporary emigration from Latvia to the UK with the purpose of understanding why this phenomenon occurs and what the possible consequences of this trend are; what affects the decisions of Latvian migrants to move to the UK; what their experiences are; and what the links between international migration and the development of the sending states in the context of Latvia are. Migration Systems Theory allowed examining of the migration process on multiple levels. The concepts of remittances, social remittances, and brain drain were combined in a development lens for analyzing the potential consequences of Latvian emigration. The fieldwork was conducted in November 2007 in London. Latvian migrants living in the UK participated in the qualitative in-depth interviews and completed questionnaires. Interviews with the participants revealed several economic, social, and political factors influencing Latvian emigration, allowing for the discussion of the potential consequences of this emigration. This book might be useful for academics, policy makers, as well as for anyone who is interested in the subject matter.