Temporary labour migration and experiences of risk and uncertainty

Temporary labour migration to Australia is a fast growing form of migration, which has begun to attract heated debate. This paper uses the lens of a sociology of risk and uncertainty in exploring one dimension often absent from the public discussion: the experiences and perspectives of the temporary migrants themselves. Our study of internationally qualified nurses on 457 temporary visas indicates that temporary migrants experience a high degree of risk and uncertainty, linked in particular with dependence on their employers. As studies of precarious migrant status suggest, much of this uncertainty is anchored in the legal regulation of their migrant status. We use nurses' accounts of uncertainty in order to ground an analysis that seeks to explore two additional interrelated dimensions: first, the effects of migrant status on different dimensions of temporary migrants' lives; and second, the influence of migrants' biographies and plans and hopes for the future on their perception, affective experience and negotiation of risk and uncertainty.