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Title [sv]
Att växa upp i papperslöshet
Title [en]
Growing up in illegality
Abstract [sv]

Projektbeskrivning

Genom livshistorieintervjuer med unga vuxna som spenderat flera år av sin barndom i papperslöshet i Danmark och Sverige syftar denna studie till att generera djupgående kunskap om de långsiktiga konsekvenserna för barn, av restriktiv migrationspolitik. Viss tidigare forskning, inklusive mitt avhandlingsarbete, har fokuserat på intervjuer med papperslösa barn och unga medan de ännu lever med osäker legal status.

Detta projekt syftar till att fylla en lucka i forskningen genom att studera hur dessa personer ser tillbaka på sina erfarenheter när de blivit äldre och fått permanent uppehållstillstånd. Barndomen, inklusive tonåren, är generellt sett de mest formativa åren i en människas liv. Den oerhört stressiga, traumatiserande och överväldigande erfarenheten av att växa upp i en papperslös familj har potentiellt sett allvarliga, livslånga implikationer för personers hälsa och sociala relationer i samhället.

De utmaningar som följer av ett liv i papperslöshet skapar starka ömsesidiga beroendeförhållanden mellan barn och vuxna, vilket ofta leder till komplexa familjesituationer. En retroaktiv utgångspunkt kan ge ytterligare perspektiv på hur barndomar i papperslöshet upplevs – perspektiv som inte alltid är enkla att prata om med barn.

Vidare så möjliggör ett livshistorieperspektiv en bredare inblick i vad papperslöshet har för effekt på barn under övergången till vuxenlivet. Utöver dessa individuella aspekter så kommer projektet också att bidra med unika komparativa insikter utifrån ett underifrånperspektiv på effekterna av hur Danmark och Sverige förhåller sig till papperslösa barn och vad det kan lära oss om följderna av deras migrationsregimer över tid. Genom att studera barndom i papperslöshet som ett ”kritiskt exempel” kommer detta projekt att diskutera de större konsekvenserna av fientliga policyer gentemot migranter och vad de gör för möjligheten att skapa sammanhållna samhällen som befrämjar ett liv i ”tillsammans-skap”.

Samarbetspartners

  • Centre for Advanced Migration Studies
    • (AMIS)
  • Köpenhamn University
Abstract [en]

Project description

Through life history interviews with young adults who spent several years of their childhood as undocumented migrants in Denmark and Sweden this study aims to produce in depth accounts about the long-term consequences of restrictive migration regulations for children. Some earlier research, including my PhD work, has focused on interviewing undocumented migrant children and youth about their experiences while they still are “in the middle of it”.

This project aims to address a gap in the literature and provide knowledge about how these same people look back at their experiences as they grow older after having received the legal right to remain in the country. Childhood, including adolescence, are generally the most formative times in people’s lives. The incredibly stressful, traumatic and overwhelming experience of growing up in a family without legal migration status has potentially severe, life-long implications for people’s health and social relations in society.

The strong interdependence that emerges within undocumented migrant families as a response to their challenging situation often creates complex family relationships. A retroactive vantage point can provide additional perspectives on how undocumented childhoods are experienced that are not so easily discussed with children.

Furthermore, a life course perspective will enable a broader view on the effects of illegality as children transition into adulthood. In addition to these individual aspects, this project will also provide a unique, comparative and bottom-up insight into the effects of Danish and Swedish state approaches to undocumented childhoods, and the implications of their larger migration regimes over time. By studying the “critical case” of childhoods in illegality, this project will discuss the larger implications of hostile migration policies for social cohesion and possibilities to foster conviviality.

Collaborators

  • Centre for Advanced Migration Studies
    • (AMIS)
  • Köpenhamn University
Publications (1 of 1) Show all publications
Lind, J. (2026). 'Well, there went that playing buddy … ' Retrospective narratives about displaceability among children fearing deportation in Denmark and Sweden. Journal of ethnic and migration studies, 1-17
Open this publication in new window or tab >>'Well, there went that playing buddy … ' Retrospective narratives about displaceability among children fearing deportation in Denmark and Sweden
2026 (English)In: Journal of ethnic and migration studies, ISSN 1369-183X, E-ISSN 1469-9451, p. 1-17Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

This article examines the long term effects of extended and extreme housing insecurity on young adults who spent their childhoods with their families under a threat of deportation in Denmark and Sweden. Drawing on retrospective, biographical interviews with 23 participants, it explores how prolonged precarious housing – whether in Danish deportation camps or as undocumented migrants in Sweden – shaped participants’ sense of home, social relationships and overall wellbeing. The analysis is framed through and develops the concept of displaceability, defined as the general experience of spatial vulnerability through potentially being at risk of displacement. In Denmark, frequent relocations and restrictive camp conditions disrupted children’s social lives and sense of safety. In Sweden, the absence of institutional support left families vulnerable to exploitative housing conditions and constant mobility. The article argues that displaceability is not only a condition of migration governance but often a life-long trajectory – starting already in the country of origin – that continues to shape young people’s futures even after regularisation. Through this approach, the study contributes with novel and much needed long term retroactive perspectives on state violence expressed through expansively repressive migration policies. 
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis Group, 2026
National Category
International Migration and Ethnic Relations
Research subject
Global politics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-83493 (URN)10.1080/1369183X.2026.2651365 (DOI)001731618200001 ()
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2021–00025
Available from: 2026-04-01 Created: 2026-04-01 Last updated: 2026-04-09Bibliographically approved
Project OfficerLind, Jacob
Coordinating organisation
Malmö University
Funder
Period
2022-08-15 － 2024-08-15
Keywords [sv]
bardom, papperslöshet
Keywords [en]
childhood, illegality
National Category
International Migration and Ethnic RelationsSocial WorkChild and Youth Studies
Identifiers
DiVA, id: project:9445
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