Egyptian irregular migration to Europe

Abstract

In this paper, I explore characteristics of Egyptian who migrate irregularly to Europe and reasons of irregular migration from the point of departure through a field survey in some Egyptian villages known of sending irregular – as well as regular - migrants to Europe (mainly Italy and France).  The survey gathered information about the level of awareness of potential migrants about irregular migration and migrants smuggling from Egypt. The results indicate that the vast majority of youth who want to migrate to Europe as well as current migrants intend to return to Egypt after a temporary stay in the countries of destination. These findings suggest that the Egyptian migration to Europe is a re-production of the pattern of Egyptian migration to the Arab Gulf countries, where young males migrate to achieve specific financial goals and then they return.