I randsonen av den norske velferdsstaten. Arbeidsledige polske migranters erfaringer med tilgang til offentlige velferdsytelser og møter med NAV.

Abstract

This thesis seeks to answer two research questions: How do unemployed Polish migrants in Norway experience their access to public welfare benefits and their encounters with NAV? And how are these experiences institutionally shaped? As EEA citizens, Polish migrants are free to enter and work in any EEA country, thus enjoying a privileged status. However, they can end up in a vulnerable position if they become unemployed. EEA migrants’ rights to public welfare benefits are characterised by legal grey zones and ambiguity. In many ways, EEA mobility disrupts and blurs the boundaries of citizenship and national states. This study explores the experiences of dealing with the Norwegian welfare administration from the standpoint of unemployed Polish migrants who lack access to public welfare benefits and live precariously in Norway. By taking the experiences of these migrants as its point of entry, this research examines the conditions that have shaped their situation and their precariousness. The empirical data were drawn primarily from interviews with Polish migrants and NAV employees as well as from documents related to the regulation of EEA mobility and EEA migrants’ rights to public welfare benefits. I interviewed 11 Polish migrants and 14 NAV employees individually and conducted a focus group interview with 10 Polish migrants. I also interviewed two Catholic priests and one social worker who acted as key informants.