Abstract
Research on low-skilled migrants in Asia has emphasized the cost of migration and the loans with exploitative repayment schemes migrants take out to finance their trajectories. However, the amounts paid to migrate abroad tend to vary considerably. This article pays heed to the call to pry open this black box by focusing on migration brokerage between India and Singapore. It does so specifically by examining the way those active in the Indian migration industry fix their rates for the services they render. Drawing on extensive case material collected in the greater Chennai region of Tamil Nadu (India), this chapter shows that there are multiple economic and social factors that contribute to the cost of migration.
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Notes
- 1.
Although low skilled is common speak when referring to migrant workers in Singapore, the city-state itself employs semi-skilled as its preferred categorization. This is in contrast to mid-level and highly skilled migrants for which it has designated separate categories.
- 2.
Although no conclusive statistical data is available for this, it appears that Tamil migrant workers in Singapore are predominantly male. Since most end up working on construction sites or in the Singapore as harbor, this may not be a surprise. In contrast, the neighboring state of Kerala is a significant source of female migrants who find employment as migrant domestic workers in the Gulf. Because of the focus of my research, I predominantly met male agents, although the administrative staff would frequently consist of female employees as well.
- 3.
I would like to thank K. Ramesh Babu for this assistance here.
- 4.
A lakh is equal to Rs. 100,000.
- 5.
The idea is that it is cheaper to fly to Sri Lanka and then onward to the Middle East. The subsequent ticket is not included in this calculation and is the responsibility of the migrant himself.
- 6.
This appears to have changed recently. Sundays now only offer 1.5 pay while working on National Holidays continues to be awarded with double pay.
References
Baas, M. (2017). The mobile middle: Indian skilled migrants in Singapore and the ‘middling’ space in-between migration categories. Transitions: Journal of Transient Migration, 1(1), 47–63.
Goh, C., Wee, K., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2016). Who’s holding the bomb? Debt-financed migration in Singapore’s domestic work industry (Working paper 38). Migrating out of Poverty.
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Lindquist, J., Xiang, B., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2010). Introduction: Opening the black box of migration: Brokers, the organization of transnational mobility and the changing political economy in Asia. Pacific Affairs, 83(1), 7–19.
Rahman, M. D. M. (2017). Bangladeshi migration to Singapore: A process-oriented approach. Singapore: Springer.
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Baas, M. (2020). Understanding the Cost of Migration: Facilitating Migration from India to Singapore and the Middle East. In: Baas, M. (eds) The Migration Industry in Asia. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9694-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9694-6_4
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