Integration with a double attachment: immigrants from the neighbouring countries to Hungary

Irén Gödri, Demographic Research Institute, Budapest

The migration of certain ethnic minorities into their mother country constitutes a special case of the migration processes within Europe. The immigration experienced in Hungary is a typical example, as two thirds of the immigrants of the last decade and a half came from neighbouring countries and the majority of them were Hungarians. The integration of these people is rendered considerably easier by the fact that their mother tongue as well as their historical and cultural traditions are the same as those of the receiving country. Nevertheless, they are confronted with all the difficulties of leaving their homeland. In summer 2002 was carried out a survey among immigrants from neighbouring countries who have received immigrant status in Hungary in 2001. The poster aims at illustrating the complex process of integration, its economic, social, psychological and identificational aspects. It also displays the factors determining integration.