The qualitative panel study (QPS) consists of semi-structured interviews with seventy multiple migrants living in more than thirty different countries. The QPS follows the interviewees’ migration and life trajectories in three consecutive waves of interviews spread over three years. During the first wave of interviews (2018/2019), the interviewees described their migration histories, their experiences of living in different places, their sense of belonging and where they felt at home. The second and third wave of interviews will follow the changes in the life of the interviewees and will deal with selected topics such as professional situation and social relations.
The QPS participants are persons born in Poland, who have experience of migrating to various countries. At the beginning of the survey, these persons were based outside of Poland. The interviewees differed in terms of place of residence (over 30 different countries), age (the youngest person was 22 years old, the oldest person was 60 years old) and education. Participants included people in various family situations, persons in relationships and singles, those having kids and those without kids.
During the first wave of interviews, the interviewees talked about causes and circumstances that led to the first and following migration moves. The stories of the respondents differed in terms of motivations. Some migrants moved for economic reasons, others moved because of the planned career development, some followed love, and others followed the opportunity to explore the world in all its forms. At the time of the interview some interviewees declared that they wished to stay where they lived. Others already planned to leave, including plans to return to Poland.
Next waves of interviews will allow tracking migration and life plans as they develop. The QPS will focus on why migrants leave and why they stay and settle. Answers to these questions and analyses can be found in the Publications section.