The Power of Policy: How Immigration Policy Changes in Southern and Eastern Europe Reshape Migration Strategies and Inequalities in Nepal
Citizens of low-income countries face restrictive migration regimes worldwide. Legal pathways to high-income destinations are often only accessible to the wealthy and highly educated, leaving most people only with migration options to less-favoured destinations or irregular migration pathways. Yet, immigration policies are never static but are constantly adjusted. This paper investigates how immigration policy change in high-income countries affects migration strategies in low-income countries. I draw from the case of recent Nepali labour migration to Southern and Eastern Europe, using unique interview and survey data of Nepalis in Malta. Contextualising these new migrations within the broader emigration context of Nepal, I show how subtle changes in policies at wealthier destinations can imply major shifts in the mobility opportunities of individuals in poorer countries, and trigger dynamic adaptations of their migration strategies—often mediated and enhanced by migration brokers. However, as mobility opportunity structures differ between social groups, so do the adaptive mechanisms of their migration strategies. Policy shifts may thus produce convergence or divergence of socially stratified migration pathways. I conclude that small adjustments in immigration policies of higher-income countries may not only reshape migration strategies but also bear significant transformative potential for mobility inequalities—and ultimately, socioeconomic inequalities—in low-income countries.