Immigration and Integration of Foreigners in Czechia: Some Thoughts on the Country’s Migration Transition from a David to a Near Goliath

Abstract

The objective of this article is to summarize, or rather to emphasize, important findings from selected research projects carried out in Czechia regarding international migration and the integration of foreigners. The primary topics of the article include Czechia’s migration position among other Central and Eastern European countries, illegal residence and the unauthorized economic activities of immigrants, the spatial organization of foreigners, forms of integration of foreigners and migration/ integration policy. The introduction and application of the so-called “migration cycle” concept form the conceptual basis of the article. Emphasis is given primarily to the fact that Czechia’s migration (and integration) situation is unique among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, due to its relatively advanced state of development. This is true both in terms of quantitative parameters and in light of their qualitative manifestations, including instruments for process management – i.e. the advanced and developed nature of migration and integration policies. This fact goes hand in hand with the evident convergence of Czech migration and integration tendencies with those known to exist in other developed immigration countries of Western Europe – with one exception: the spatial concentration of foreigners. This indicator does not yet approach the parameters (intensity and forms) known in more developed regions of the world.