43 / 2016
Vesna Leskošek

Migrations and Access to Social Rights in the EU and Slovenia



ABSTRACT
The social rights of migrants are regulated with caution because of the prevailing opinion that migrants do not migrate just because of labour but also because of welfare benefits and services provided by welfare states. Access of migrants to social rights depends on several factors: on the extent of the welfare state (the extent of social rights and benefits), on the connection between rights and citizenship, on integration or immigration policies and on discourses about foreign workers. In the last decade or so political discourses and public opinion on the eligibility of migrants to social rights and benefits have become increasingly hostile. The consequences are mainly more restrictive migration policies and conditions which are difficult to comply with in order to obtain a status that allows for greater security and stability of migrants’ life cycles. In the article we focus on the effects and consequences of the interconnectedness of pejorative speech and legal status that enables access to social rights in the EU and in Slovenia. 
KEY WORDS: welfare state, social rights and benefits, restrictions, migration policies, public opinion


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