Should I Stay or Should I Go? - The Attractiveness/Unattractiveness of Portugal & Spain for Asylum Seekers

Abstract

Drawing on the research object of migration, mostly focused on the inclusion of asylum seekers in the European Union (EU hereinafter), this Master thesis aims at measuring the attractiveness/unattractiveness of EU countries on welcoming asylum seekers in. The method used, is then, the comparison of Portugal and Spain, two similar countries, but with quite different outcomes. Furthermore, this work suggests that external factors are on the scope of forced migration, so issues as choice on the destination country, migrant networks, previous knowledge and the integration policies make a country attractive or not. The final results bring to light the interesting findings that asylum seekers coming legally to Portugal would rather live illegal anywhere else. Moreover, even though Spain appears as a relatively more "successful" country on attracting asylum applications, it also shares the same push factors as Portugal.