The Politics of Seasonal Labour Migration in Switzerland, France and Spain

This article analyses the effects of the politics of seasonal foreign worker admissions on migrant legality in the context of the post-1945 and the post-1990 seasonal foreign worker policy in Switzerland, France and Spain respectively. It seeks historical evidence attesting to the ability of seasonal admissions to restrict workers to their non-resident status. It presents implications for circular migration, the dernier cri in European migration policy aimed to strike a compromise between a perceived post-crisis demand for the admission of foreign workers and the reluctance to make them prospective citizens.