From internal to transnational mobilities

Within migration studies, it is common to encounter the distinction between internal and international migrations. The first is used to indicate individuals who move within the borders of a single country, such as circular rural-urban migration for instance, whereas the second is defined as the act of moving across international boundaries (transnationally) from a country of origin to a country of destination. Although the study of these processes constitute domains of research that have been developed as distinct fields, these two forms of mobility are related. Therefore migration scholarship should extend the analytical perspective beyond national borders and overcome the gap between internal and international population movements. From a phenomenological point of view, in many cases internal migration, which often relies on kin, religious or ethnic networks, gives rise to organisational solutions that prove crucial for transnational mobility.