Geographies of love: Stories from Latin-America to Poland

This thesis talks about the experiences of Latin American citizens which moved to Poland to be in a relationship with a Polish citizen and how they build their social network and what is the role of the Polish partner to construct these. Using semi-structured interviews and mapping drawing to investigate these narratives investigates the process of integration in Polish society, how this affects relationships, how we can develop emotional and financial dependency, how the process of getting a job in Poland becomes a reality vs. expectation, and how getting the Residence Permit Card (pl.Karta Pobytu) and how getting the Karta Pobytu can give visibility to this group of migrants. The first results show that these narratives share some mutual experiences and a desire of belonging trying to find Latin communities in Poland as a way to feel at home, the change of carriers in the host country plays an important role in the psychological health of the participants. The concepts of ’Social networks’ and “binational relationships’ are used to frame the narratives in the search of belonging to a new context without leaving their Latin American roots behind. These stories are juxtaposed with the narratives of Latin Americans who moved to Poland for work reasons and what are the main differences to feel part of Polish society, and how the role of their partner is not central when social networks are created. The study demonstrates how the group of migrants who moved to Poland to be in a relationship with a Polish citizen feels a sense of infantilization where the Polish partner plays not only the role of a romantic and emotional support, but also a legal figure when paperwork must be done, translator, financial source, and the one who has the strongest voice in the relationship.