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MarianneJossen 2018 EstimatesOfTheUncount UndocumentedMigrantsA
MarianneJossen 2018 EstimatesOfTheUncount UndocumentedMigrantsA
Undocumented migrants,
healthcare and health
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AN: 1872883 ; Marianne Jossen.; Undocumented Migrants and Healthcare : Eight Stories From Switzerland
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8 Undocumented Migrants and Healthcare
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2. Undocumented migrants, healthcare and health 9
Fig. 3 Indicators for irregular migration in 2014 and 2015, according to Frontex (2016).
However, the category of illegal border crossings includes not only those
who go undocumented, but everyone who asks for asylum. Moreover
there were more people who crossed the border and subsequently
asked for asylum in 2015 than in the year before. It is therefore difficult
to determine the exact increase in undocumented migrants.
The most recent estimates for Switzerland can be found in a state-
commissioned study by Morlok et al. (2015). While an earlier study,
also commissioned by the government, estimated a population of 90,000
undocumented migrants in 2005 (Longchamp 2005), Morlok et al. (2015)
give a lower estimate of 76,000 undocumented migrants for 2015, a figure
based on various sources of information. As Figure 4 shows, the estimate
is extrapolated from expert interviews. The experts estimated the number
of undocumented migrants to range between 58,000 and 105,000. The
number is further contextualised using analyses of the number of known
fatalities and births of persons without residency in Switzerland.
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10 Undocumented Migrants and Healthcare
Morlok et al. (2015) further estimated that two thirds (63%) of the
undocumented migrants entered the country without permission to
do so, or overstayed their tourist visa. The final third is made up of
individuals who lost their legal right to stay after longer periods of
time, for example after a divorce (18%), as well as failed asylum seekers
(19%). It is further estimated that about 43% of undocumented migrants
in Switzerland were born in South America, while 24% originated in
Europe, with a further 19% coming from Africa and 11% from Asia.
The majority are between eighteen and forty years old. About 41% have
received only a basic education, between six and nine years of primary
school. The remaining 59% have received secondary education‒a three
to four-year apprenticeship‒or higher education such as a university
degree.
This said, it is important to keep in mind that being undocumented
is not a personal characteristic but a social construct. In the words of
Bloch et al. undocumented migration results from
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