Nepali Nurses in Great Britain: The Paradox of Professional Belonging

When they migrate to England for the sake of earning higher wages and gaining additional training in professional fields they enjoy, Nepali nurses have to overcome obstacles posed by UK employers, Nepali agents, and both the British and the Nepali governments, as well as contend with separating from parents and children. In the face of these many challenges, the aspiration to belong takes place not primarily in a social sphere but in a professional one. Prohibitions experienced against belonging are not reluctance from ‘host country’ nationals to allow integration, but state barriers to professional advancement, which do not tally with the actual dynamics of either labour needs in the UK nor the charted patterns of health care migration.