Circular migration as a way of life: The precarious dreams of Central and Eastern European free mover

In this paper we call for recognition that transnational circular migration is the most common form of free movement in the European Union (EU). We argue that existing policy frameworks, research findings and, importantly, practices already point to this issue. However, due to the exclusive use of ‘circular migration’ in the EU’s neighbourhood policy, its relevance elsewhere has been overlooked. To investigate circular free movement and its implications for notions of citizenship and everyday lives, we draw on creative visual (118 images) and exploratory interviews (photo elicitation and series of follow-up interviews) with 14 Central and Eastern European free movers and their families in the United Kingdom. Overall, our paper strongly accentuates the lack of ‘triple wins’ which emerges from the marrying of (EU) citizenship with circular free movement, especially its upshot in promoting uneven notions of citizenship and senses of attachment towards home and host countries, and the EU.