IRIS

Sudanese students say UK visa ban has dashed hopes of studying at top universities More than 200 applicants fear they will lose places after home secretary suspends study visas from four countries

“Years of effort suddenly collapsed because of a decision completely beyond my control.

We are not seeking asylum or permanent settlement. Most of us go to gain knowledge, skills, & connections that will help us rebuild & strengthen Sudan."

shorturl.at/2EQ4Y

IRIS 2026 Conference | Unsettling Communities 7-9 September, University of Birmingham CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS Deadline: 16 March 2026 All submissions via the online submission page. We  are living in times  where profou…

One week left to apply for #IRIS2026Conference "Unsettling communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement in the Age of Authoritarianism" - Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops ends on 16 March. Apply online here: superdiversity.net/iris-2026-co...
#sociology #socialscience #migrationstudies

Does anyone think that this - effectively describing people who came here at *our* invitation to work in care homes as would-be parasites on the welfare state - is what she meant?

Making and unmaking global citizenship: IRIS Talk How do lived experiences of precarious migration generate claims to rights, belonging and accountability?

Join us for our next IRIS talk with professor @vickisquire.bsky.social on her recently published book "Making and unmaking global citizenship" www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-and...

Mahmood to stop study visas from four countries due to 'abuse' The government will end study visas from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, due to what she says is abuse.

Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar & Sudan will find their citizens all losing the ability to come here legally on study visas, while Afghanistan is also losing skilled visas.

This is a form of collective punishment and is deeply discriminatory.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

IRIS 2026 Conference | Unsettling Communities 7-9 September, University of Birmingham CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS Deadline: 16 March 2026 All submissions via the online submission page. We  are living in times  where profou…

➜ a reminder: the Call for papers, panels and workshops for IRIS 2026 conference: Unsettling Communities (7-9 September 2026) is open until 16th March 2026: superdiversity.net/iris-2026-co...

Unwelcome to Denmark: Asylum on Probation with Michelle Pace

➜ new episode of "Conversations with Iris" #podcast on asylum and integration in #Denmark with Prof prof Michelle Pace open.spotify.com/episode/6FvW...

Racial Logics of Irregular Migration in Europe. Policy, Perception, and Precarity - I-CLAIM This report examines how race and racism shape the production, governance, and lived experience of migrants’ irregularity across Europe. Drawing on comparative research in Finland, Germany, Italy, the...

4 updates from IRIS.
➜Racial Logics of hashtag#IrregularMigration: new @iclaimeu.bsky.social report on how race and #racism shape the production, governance, and lived experience of migrants’ irregularity across Europe:
in collaboration with @enareurope.bsky.social
i-claim.eu/project/raci...

Unwelcome to Denmark: Asylum on Probation with Michelle Pace

New episode of Conversations with IRiS 🎙️
In this #podcast, we speak with prof Michelle Pace, author of Unwelcome to #Denmark (Manchester University Press, 2025).

#asylum

open.spotify.com/episode/6FvW...

A different path: the regularisation of migrants in Spain The Spanish model in today's anti-migration Europe

New piece by @nandosigona.bsky.social:
A different path – the #regularisation of migrants in #Spain.
At a time of rising xenophobia across Europe, Spain is charting a different course. What does it reveal about the failures of the wider European approach? www.meltingpot.org/en/2026/02/a...

British dual citizens are not a homogeneous group, and their different constituent parts are affected differently by the new UK passport rules — changes whose wider consequences the government does not appear to have fully appreciated, @nandosigona.bsky.social writes for @theconversation.com

IRIS 2026 Conference | Unsettling Communities 7-9 September, University of Birmingham CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS Deadline: 16 March 2026 All submissions via the online submission page. We  are living in times  where profou…

Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement in an Age of Growing Authoritarianism
7-9 September 2026, @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Deadline for proposals: 16 March 2026
superdiversity.net/iris-2026-co...

This is leadership, especially in these dire times when migrants are used as an easy punchbag from all sides of the political spectrum.

IRIS 2026 Conference | Unsettling Communities 7-9 September, University of Birmingham CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS Deadline: 16 March 2026 All submissions via the online submission page. We  are living in times  where profou…

Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement in an Age of Growing Authoritarianism
7-9 September 2026, @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Deadline for proposals: 16 March 2026
superdiversity.net/iris-2026-co...

📣 Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities We’re delighted to announce the launch of the Call for Papers, Panels, and Workshops for the IRIS 2026 international conference, titled Unsettling Communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement …

📣 Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities superdiversity.net/2026/01/23/%...

Home Affairs Committee - Written evidence - Committees - UK Parliament Written evidence submission publications for Home Affairs Committee.

There is a huge volume of submissions, reflecting how important, controversial and IMO vindictive and damaging these proposals are. Linked below

Good ones from @ippr.org, @ilonapin.bsky.social, @nandosigona.bsky.social & many others [2/3]

committees.parliament.uk/committee/83...

Measuring Misery: The Science & Politics of Forced Displacement Statistics Public talk by Prof David Scott FitzGerald, University of California San Diego jointly hosted by IRIS and POLSIS, University of Birmingham, 2 February, 4-5.30 PM Follow this link to reserve a place…

Measuring Misery: The Science & Politics of Forced Displacement Statistics
#IRIStalk by @fitzgeralducsd.bsky.social, 2 February, 4-5.30pm @unibirmingham.bsky.social @irisbirmingham.bsky.social
superdiversity.net/2026/01/14/m...

The @unibirmingham.bsky.social #socialpolicy is hosting #ISARC19 2026 conference next September (2-4 Sept, University of Birmingham), the call for papers is available here: uobevents.eventsair.com/rc19/call-fo...

Need some help to understand what's going on in Trump's America? Listen to the #MAGA & #migration #podcast series hosted by @michaelacbenson.bsky.social & @nandosigona.bsky.social

A (research) year-in-review thread from IRIS @unibirmingham.bsky.social
We asked our researchers to pick one of their publications from 2025 and share why it stands out for them.
Here's what they replied!
#migration
#refugees
#socialsciences
#diversity
#research

Transnational Political Trajectories of Migrants AbstractThis chapter explores the multifaceted drivers that influence migrants’ transnational political trajectories. By using intersectionality as an anal

Finally, our #MSCA Global Fellow @gulceozdemir.bsky.social's chapter on the 'Transnational Political Trajectories of Migrants' in Yurdakul, G. et al (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Intersectional Approaches to #Migration, #Gender, and #Sexuality doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...

Brexit and the Emergence of a Transnational European Community of Practice: From Grassroots Mobilisations to Supranational Political Opportunity Structures in the Struggle for Citizens' Rights Brexit ignited an unprecedented sense of shared European identity and belonging, catalysing pro-EU social movements among EU nationals in the United Kingdom and amongst British citizens residing in t....

Co-authored by @michaelacbenson.bsky.social @catherineruth.bsky.social and @nandosigona.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... this @jcms-eu.bsky.social article examines how #Brexit ignited an unprecedented sense of shared #European identity and belonging in the UK and EU

Encounters with kindness: everyday and extraordinary kind interventions in the lives of forced migrant survivors of SGBV While much attention is given to understanding the nature of the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) encountered by forced migrants, far less focus is placed on the actions and experiences that...

This co-authored @scmrjems.bsky.social paper (incl. @profjennyp.bsky.social, Lisa Goodson, @sandrapertek.bsky.social) repositions kindness as a critical analytical lens for understanding recovery, agency and informal protection in forced migration contexts.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This one is from @sandrapertek.bsky.social, it critically analyses the role of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIc) in assisting women in conflict and displacement, focusing on its political commitments and institutional capacities.
www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/index.php/pr...

This article, @oliviapetie.bsky.social says, draws on two case studies to explore how concepts of #hospitality, home, and unhome can be useful in understanding the use of hotel accommodation for #asylumseekers in the UK & the experiences of those living there doi.org/10.1386/hosp...

What’s so funny about the European ‘migration crisis’? The use of humour among unaccompanied young migrants and refugees to assert agency and subvert authority in the face of a hostile reception regim... This paper explores the use of humour among unaccompanied young migrants and refugees to assert agency and subvert authority in the face of a hostile reception regime. It explores how comedy manife...

My article, Jenny Allsopp explains, has been a long time in the making and it was a fun one to write. It celebrates the resilience of young asylum seekers and refugees.
doi.org/10.1080/1367...

"Need a guide to decode the script behind UK anti-immigration rhetoric? This is your roadmap", @stefano-piemontese.bsky.social argues. It unpacks how #irregularmigration was constructed during one of the most turbulent periods in British politics (2019–2023). zenodo.org/records/1511...

I enjoyed writing this chapter, @amartinsjr.bsky.social says. It demonstrates how ideas and moral justifications of deservingness are actively formed and renegotiated in migrants’ everyday lives.
migration.bristol.ac.uk/rethinking-m...

Bordering and Mobilities in Ukraine: Inconvenient People in the Time of War This book analyses how war and bordering impact daily life and mobility and immobility tactics. It brings to light the memories of people who were displaced from Ukraine’s eastern regions because of R...

"In this book, we explore everyday experiences of war, bordering, and (im)mobilities, including actions of resistance in occupied territories, the loss of home and struggles to find housing, volunteering, and the traumatic responses", Irina Kuznetsova explains. www.routledge.com/Bordering-an...