A Decade of Membership: Hungarian Post-Accession Mobility to the United Kingdom

Abstract

This paper examines Hungarian migration to the United Kingdom following EU accession. Migration from Hungary has generally been low both before and after accession, but trends have recently started to change. Based on the available statistical data, the paper explores the volume, key demographics and geographical distribution of this migration, and shows how a combination of economic, political and social factors is accountable for the migration of Hungarians to the United Kingdom. To give a human face to the phenomenon, the paper also builds on narrative interviews collected during recent ethnographic fieldwork in London, highlighting the role of economic decline, policy miscalculations, language competence and the online migration industry in shaping the motivations, aims and accommodation of migrants. The paper suggests that migration from Hungary may become more dominant in the second decade of the country’s EU membership than it has been during the first ten years.