Familial ties and their impact on the class conditions of migrant nurses in the Republic of Ireland

ABSTRACT This article examines how familial ties and kinship networks shape the class conditions of migrants in their host country. Using data from 61 semi-structured interviews with Filipino migrant nurses in Ireland, we examine the connection between familial social networks and their socioeconomic conditions in the host society. We argue that kinship ties and their local contexts continue to impinge on migrants’ class position and class conditions in their destination country. The paper highlights the interconnections between complex social relations, social spaces, and class systems in shaping migrant social mobility in the destination country. It illustrates how class backgrounds in the home country are reproduced through their kinship ties. It also argues that while social ties are usually predicated on positive emotional bonds, some produce negative consequences that impede or delay the social mobility of migrants. Conversely, some social ties help migrants achieve their middle-class aspirations ahead of others.