Transnational family care and British international retirement migrants in Spain

This chapter explores the transnational informal and intergenerational family care arrangements among older British international retirement migrants (IRMs) in Spain. It aims to understand the ways in which these older migrants obtain care and support from their families. It draws on interviews with 34 older British migrants living in the Spanish Costa del Sol to highlight three different transnational family care arrangements that involve (1) ‘remaining’ in the country of migration and accessing virtual or proximate care from family using communication technology or short visits; (2) ‘joining’ a child or parent in Spain to receive or provide care; and (3) ‘returning’ to the home country to access care from family. The chapter explores the complex intergenerational and transnational care arrangements for older migrants and the ways in which social, economic and political resources have (re)shaped these arrangements. It highlights the complexity that migration can bring to both care giving and receiving and the importance of proximity in old age care. It also addresses the difficulties of both providing and receiving care across borders.