This paper sets the scene and provides a conceptual framework for the articles in this special issue. They present the findings of research on European residents who have reached or are on the threshold of old age and whose current circumstances have been strongly influenced by a migration across an international border. Such ‘older migrants’ are scattered throughout Europe and they have especially diverse characteristics. They include some of the most deprived and socially excluded, and some of the most affluent and accomplished, but all to a greater or lesser extent are disadvantaged through an interaction between social policies and their ‘otherness’ by living in a foreign country. Some claim attention through the severity of their unmet health and welfare needs and poor capacity to access advice and treatment, while the affluent groups are of great interest to social gerontology because of their enterprising, developmental and positive approaches to old age. They include among the most innovative of the latest generation of older people, who pursue new combinations of family responsibilities, leisure pursuits and income generation. The paper proposes that the concept ‘human capital’ summarises variations in preparedness for old age, that is, the resources by which people cope with demands for income, roles, treatment, care and support. A typology of the ‘welfare position’ of international migrants in contemporary Europe is presented.

The objective of this paper is to present the findings of a quantitative study of Swiss elderly residents on the Costa Blanca (in the Province of Alicante, Spain) and of an ethnographic study of their British counterparts in Fuengirola and Los Boliches on the Costa del Sol (in the Province of Málaga). We examine the German concept Heimat and its value as an organising construct for understanding the aspirations and actions of foreign retirees resident in Spain, and explore whether globalisation undermines locality to the extent that being in a particular geographical place is no longer a prerequisite for feeling at home. The paper describes the social life and patterns of association of these groups of retired people, in terms of social clubs, leisure activities, voluntary associations, charity groups and self-help groups, relations with home, and relations to Spaniards and people from other countries. It compares the results of the two studies in an analysis of the strategies that the two groups adopt for constructing social communities and for finding a new home. This paper thus provides some insights into what older people seek in later life in terms of their residence, co-resident groups, social contacts and lifestyle choices.

During the last two decades, northern European retirement residence in the southern European sunbelt has grown strongly and its forms have rapidly changed, but standard demographic and social statistical sources provide no information about the flows, the migrants or their increasingly mobile and complex residential patterns. Considerable primary research has however recently been undertaken into the causes, conditions, experiences and consequences of international retirement migration (IRM) by investigators from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Many collaborated when designing their studies and instruments, and all have subsequently worked together in a European Science Foundation Scientific Network. This paper compares the findings of six systematic social surveys in (to be more precise than the title) eight regions of southern Europe and the Canary Islands: all that have tackled similar research questions with similar methods and instruments. It presents interpretations of several comparative tables compiled from their original data, with a focus on the socio-economic backgrounds, motivations and behaviour of the various migrant groups and their relationship with the host and home countries. The paper presents new findings about the typical and variant forms of IRM, and additional understanding of the heterogeneity of the retirees of different nations and in the several regions.

Britain's minority ethnic groups are numerous and diverse, and among them there are complex relationships between their origins, the timing of their arrival by decade and the age of the migrants, their geographical distribution in Britain, and gender differences in their occupational status distributions. All of these lifecourse attributes have implications for the migrants' situations as they reach old age. To advance our knowledge and understanding of these factors, this paper examines the lifecourse of a sample of 303 South Asian older migrants living in Birmingham, England's second largest city. The sample included 103 Gujaratis, 100 Punjabis, and 100 Sylhetis. The paper examines their living arrangements, education and language abilities, occupational status, and settlement and moves within the United Kingdom. The associations between ethnic group membership, gender and pre-migration histories are related to differences in their settlement patterns and residential mobility in Britain. The findings show variations in the timing, chronology and locations of each ethnic group's major lifecourse events, in the meanings associated with the events, and in the outcomes in late life. The similarities and differences between the ethnic groups and between men and women are discussed with regard to the current socio-economic situation of ethnic older people in the UK and the prospect for continuing inequalities.

This paper examines several aspects of the social situation of the older immigrant population in Switzerland. It reviews their demographic history and characteristics and provides profiles of their health and well being, their material standard of life and access to social security and related benefits. It reports selected findings from an original survey of older Italian and Spanish citizens who are resident in the country, which show relatively high rates of disadvantage and poverty. The determination of a large proportion of the immigrant population to remain in Switzerland after they have ceased work demonstrates that the minorities who entered the country as labour migrants will become a permanent element of the Swiss population and its society. Neither the politicians nor the general public in Switzerland have yet accepted the reality of this new diversity. Given the continuation and indeed growth of international labour migration, the paper concludes by discussing the social policy and attitudinal options that face the governments and the population of Switzerland and many other European countries.

There are at least four ways in which old age and migration cross each other's paths. First of all, there are people who migrated for economic reasons, usually at a relatively young age, and who have grown old in a foreign country. Secondly, there are older people who migrate when (or because) they are old: in Europe, they are mostly from the affluent northern countries and travel southward. Thirdly, there is increasing employment of, and demand for, immigrant workers in old-age institutions in the northern countries. Finally, there is the out-migration of young people, mainly from rural areas, that results in older people being left behind without children to look after them. In all these cases, migration has a profound effect on the wellbeing and care of older people. The authors of this article explore a fifth linkage between migration and old age, by focusing on the (mainly illegal) immigrants who take on roles as private carers and, in effect, replace the children who have emigrated. Two cases, from Greece and Ghana, are presented and viewed in the two countries' political, cultural and economic contexts, and are then compared to conditions in The Netherlands. In both cases, involving a ‘stranger’ in the care of an older parent is regarded as a good and respectable solution to the problem of absent children and grandchildren: it follows rules of reciprocity and normally provides a good quality of care. Ironically, hiring full-time private care for older people is feasible in low-income countries but a rare luxury in high-income societies.

This paper presents key findings of a recently completed socio-legal study of international retirement migration in the European Union (EU). It highlights the diverse nature of retirement migration and the differential citizenship status that is formally granted to various groups of retired migrants. ‘Citizenship of the European Union’ (Articles 17–22 of the Treaty establishing the European Community) bestows important social and political rights on nationals of EU Member States (‘Community nationals’). These rights are not, however, universal or based on nationality as such. In practice, the residency and social rights that a mobile EU national can claim in another Member State depend on the type of social contribution they have made and their personal relationships. Contributions through paid employment and/or membership of the family of a mobile EU worker gives rise to maximum social benefit. Whilst the European Union citizenship provisions extend residency rights to all EU nationals (irrespective of work status), those whose mobility is not connected to employment derive significantly inferior social entitlements when resident in a host Member State. Put simply, the rights of people (and members of their family) who move following retirement in their home country differ substantially from those who retire following a period of working in another Member State (and achieve the status of ‘community migrant worker’ prior to retirement). This formal ‘discrimination’ is further compounded by the diversity of the social welfare systems of the member states that results in distinct social, economic and spatial inequalities across the EU. To that extent, the ‘choice’ of retirement location significantly impacts on citizenship status. However, retired migrants are not merely passive spectators of formal rights and policies. Many show considerable skill in actively managing their rights (at both national and EU levels) and other resources to optimise personal benefit. This ability to maximise wellbeing is unevenly distributed.