Title  Portuguese immigration in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: social and economic aspects
Author  Luís Miguel Marques Duarte
Advisor  João Alfredo dos Reis Peixoto
Year  2005
Institution  Higher Institute of Economics and Management, University of Lisbon
Degree  Masters
Area  Development and international cooperation
Keywords  Migration, integration, quality of life, education, return, development, Portuguese emigration, Luxembourg
URI  http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/18801

Abstract

This work is based on three main pillars: a review of emigration theories, including their causes and consequences; an analysis of Portuguese emigration in general and the most popular destinations; and an in-depth study of Portuguese emigration to Luxembourg. This last pillar bears the full "weight" of the problems experienced by Portuguese immigrants in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and their families. Relieving this "weight" are the advantages of this immigration - trying to integrate more and more into the society of the country that welcomed them. This emigration has managed to provide its agents with a standard of living that they would never have achieved here on the "pier" that saw them leave, ensuring them work, fairer wages, the right to good health care and respect for their personal and social dignity. In exchange for this "well-being", it was the strength of their arms, their dedication to work, their humility, their attachment to complying with the rules and laws in force in the host country that contributed, and still contributes, to the economic development, employment and social balance of this "small - large" country. The Portuguese immigrant in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg didn't change its history; he didn't upset the principles of its inhabitants; he didn't disturb its social peace; he enriched it with his generous contribution. When there was a shortage of labor, Portuguese immigrants knew how to say "present", accepting humble jobs that the locals despised. They arrived in waves, more or less numerous, and today constitute the largest immigrant community in this Central European country. There, they prepare their children for more qualified work and, like their parents, educate their children, forming the second and third generations. Everything in life has its positive and negative sides. This is undoubtedly school failure and the difficulty in obtaining dual nationality.