Stay close, go far The stepwise migration of Iranian students and academics

This PhD thesis examines how inequalities in international student mobility shape the trajectories of students from peripheral countries who aspire to move to Western core destinations. It analyzes the migration trajectories of 70 Iranians in science and engineering who left Iran to study in Turkey, the Netherlands and the United States.
Out of 70 interviewees, two-fifths engaged in stepwise migration between three or more countries. Stepwise migration is a conscious strategy used by students who either lack sufficient capital to move directly to Western core destinations or who do not feel ready to do so due to geographic distance and restrictive visa policies. Stepwise student migrants first move to intermediate countries with lower capital requirements and flexible visa policies that enable the accumulation of the additional capital needed for migrating onwards.
This study makes two main contributions to our knowledge on international student mobility. First, it shows how inequalities between international students are reproduced during their trajectories, although this reproduction is partly attenuated due to the availability of scholarships and funded positions in the context of the global race for talent.
Secondly, this study reveals a proximity preference that challenges the assumption that students from peripheral countries generally want to move to Western core destinations. Instead, 84 per cent of the Iranians in this research opted for regional hubs such as Turkey or newer destinations such as the Netherlands. This indicates that students from the periphery increasingly opt for easy-to-access destinations that grant them a greater sense of mobility freedom.