Nuancing COVID-19 pandemic experiences of vulnerable people: The case of (ir)regular Filipino migrants in Paris

Abstract

This article examines the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on regular and irregular Filipino migrants working in the service sector in Paris. Drawing from the authors’ analysis of the literature on migrants in the context of the pandemic, the French state’s sanitary and social measures, and a set of 28 semi-structured interviews with Filipino migrants, it shows that these migrants’ experiences converge and diverge at some points. Irregular Filipino migrants experienced the pandemic’s economic and emotional blows stronger than their regular migrant counterparts due to their unstable work situation and migration status intersecting with other factors at the micro, meso and macro levels of their lives. Interestingly, regular and irregular migrants shared some positive experiences of the pandemic, nuancing the conventional understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic experiences of vulnerable populations as mainly negative.

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic experiences (ir)regular migrants divergence convergence service sector Filipinos Paris

Introduction

During the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, France reported almost 40 million confirmed cases since the virus was first detected in Bordeaux in late January 2020 (Mathieu et al., 2020). The pandemic hit Europe hard, accounting for almost 20 percent of the global deaths (WHO, 2020). According to the National Agency of Public Health in France (Santé publique, 2020), the country is the sixth most affected in the region, with more than two million confirmed cases and more than 50,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The nation enforced its first lockdown from 17 March to 11 May 2020, a curfew that took effect in several major cities on 14 October 2020, and a second lockdown from the end of October to mid-December of the same year (Marsaudon et al., 2020). Such sanitary measures heavily affected vulnerable populations in the country, such as homeless people, women and migrants (Carillon et al., 2020; Crouzet et al., 2022; De Jesus et al., 2022; Peraud et al., 2021). Concerning the latter population, the effects of the pandemic on their lives may vary depending on their migration status and how their receiving country treats them.

To assess the veracity of this supposition, the present paper conducts a case study of Filipino domestic workers most of whom are in an irregular migration situation in France (Fresnoza-Flot, 2009; Ito, 2016). In 2013, for example, 79 percent (i.e., 37,880) of 48,018 Filipinos in the country were in such a situation (Commission on Filipinos Overseas, 2015). In 2022, irregularity remains a major characteristic (about 51 percent) of the 20,489 Filipinos in France (The Foreign Service Institute, 2024). Irregular Filipino migrants probably comprise less than 10 percent of 368,890 undocumented migrants in France in 2020 based on the number of beneficiaries of the State Medical Assistance (Aide Médicale d’État - AME) for undocumented migrant population (Ministère de l’Intérieur, 2021: 78). Since many Filipino irregular migrants are often afraid of being arrested and deported, they likely hesitate to access AME, which may explain the discrepancy between the number of irregular Filipinos reported by the Philippine Foreign Service Institute and that reported by the French Ministry of the Interior. Irregular migrant Filipinos’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to those of their regular migrant counterparts can therefore add interesting insights on the way the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations has been understood. We argue that nuances should be considered when accounting for the effects of the pandemic on migrant populations to avoid victimization and homogenizing discourses overlooking their agencies. We, therefore, propose here a focus on the divergence and convergence of the pandemic experiences of migrants while paying attention to their differing migration statuses, notably their intersection with other factors. This latter approach draws from Crenshaw’s (1989) intersectionality perspective and moves beyond focusing on the race-gender-class trio to include other socially constructed categories, starting with migration status. Divergence in this paper refers to a specific situation in which the impact of the pandemic and/or its reinforcing factor(s) deviate from common-sense expectations, whereas convergence means the common collective experience of the pandemic’s effects regardless of individuals’ varying socio-demographic characteristics.

In this paper, regular migrants refer to those with valid residence permits to live and work in France, whereas irregular migrants are either undocumented or documented but with expired visas. Their irregularity is defined by entering, remaining in or working in France without the requisite authorization or documentation (Vespe et al., 2017). Since the latter part of the 1970s, most Filipinos in France fit this category. Nonetheless, regardless of their differing migration statuses and ways of entry into the country, Filipino migrants can be described as “economic migrants;” that is, individuals who relocate from their usual domicile to a new location outside of their country of origin to enhance their standard of living (Redpath-Cross and Perruchoud, 2019). In France, Filipinos immigrate mainly in search of better economic opportunities for themselves and their families in the Philippines. They concentrate on the service sector, mostly as home or office cleaners, nannies and caregivers for aged people (Fresnoza-Flot, 2013).

In the following sections, we review the literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regular and irregular migrants on the one hand and on the strategies of these individuals to confront the said impact on the other hand. We then provide explanations about our methodology, describe the French service sector where Filipino migrants concentrate, revisit the French state’s measures during the pandemic, and present our empirical findings highlighting the divergence and convergence between irregular and regular Filipino migrants as regards their pandemic experiences. We conclude by summarizing our key findings while emphasizing the need for nuancing the pandemic experiences of migrants.

Regular and irregular migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic

The literature on the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of migration documents how the said global health crisis affected vulnerable populations, including regular and irregular migrants. What is salient in this corpus of studies is the different negative effects of the pandemic and the varying strategies migrants adopted to survive them. These salient aspects indicate the converging and diverging experiences of migrants.

The different effects of the pandemic on migrants’ lives can be mainly seen in the following dimensions: Health, psychological state, spatial mobility, economic condition and social situation. In terms of health, many migrants contracted the virus due to their cramped, unhealthy living environment and limited access to healthcare services. For example, almost 90 percent of the confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections in Singapore concerned low-skilled regular migrant workers living in dormitories (Koh, 2020). This situation has also been observed in other migrant-receiving countries such as Malaysia (Wahab, 2020) and Middle Eastern states, where many foreign workers live in “employer-provided shared living facilities” (Babar, 2020: 344). Like their regular counterparts, irregular migrants experienced poor health conditions, mainly due to limited access to healthcare services and dangerous working and living conditions (Richardson and Pettigrew, 2022).

In terms of the pandemic’s impact on migrants’ psychological condition or mental health, scholars identified traumatic stress, fear of deportation, distrust of their receiving state’s measures, anxiety disorders and depression, among others (e.g., Acharya et al., 2022; Alpay et al., 2021; Bayes-Marin et al., 2022; Gosselin et al., 2021; Ming and De Jong, 2021; Rothman et al., 2020). Many states targeted migrants “as potential virus spreaders” and, therefore, need “to be confined and restricted in movement for their own good” (Tazzioli and Stierl, 2021: 542). For example, the “politics of sanitization” in Taiwan “reinforces imaginary divide between a clean ‘national body’ and a risky ethnic other” (Lan, 2022: 243); the “other” refers here to regular migrant workers. Only certain countries allowed regular migrants who fit the category of “essential” workers or foreigners to enter their territories, such as seasonal agricultural workers and family members of citizens and permanent residents (Macklin, 2022; Paul, 2020). As regards migrants who are irregular or with unstable legal status, blocked spatial mobility during the pandemic brought them emotional challenges due to the difficulty in realizing their family reunification aspiration. For example, refugees in the United States of America (USA) experienced suspended resettlement and delayed family reunification (Brickhill-Atkinson and Hauck, 2021).

Aside from the restricted spatial mobility of “non-essential” regular and irregular migrants, job loss and poverty have been reported (Hou et al., 2020). In Thailand, for instance, migrants from Myanmar and Laos “lost their jobs and sources of income,” which affected their capacity to sustain their daily needs and those of their stay-behind families (Suhardiman et al., 2021: 98). In the UK, “black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups” with migration origin experienced more income loss and financial difficulties than their British white counterparts (Hu, 2020: 1). Likewise, immigrants were among the vulnerable populations in France who lost employment during the pandemic (Gosselin et al., 2021). When regular and irregular migrants are compared, the latter appear to suffer more than the former, notably in terms of job loss (Borjas and Cassidy, 2020). As regards gender, migrant women’s employment was more heavily impacted than that of migrant men in South Korea (Shin, 2022). In the USA, whereas the employment rate of migrant men dropped to 67.1 percent by April 2020, that of migrant women decreased to 45.2 percent in the same period (Borjas and Cassidy, 2020: 4–5). It is evident that migrant women received the economic blows of the pandemic stronger than their men counterparts.

Another impact of the pandemic on regular and irregular migrants can be observed in their social situation. While many underwent social isolation (Alahmad et al., 2020; Elisabeth et al., 2020) related to their receiving states’ restrictions on human spatial mobility, others became targets of racism and discrimination. This is specifically the case of Asian Americans in the USA (Gover et al., 2020), the descendants of Chinese migrants and recent Chinese immigrants in France (Wang et al., 2021) and the Burmese workers in Thailand’s seafood processing sector who were blamed for bringing the virus to the country (Vandergeest et al., 2021). Regardless of gender, legal status, and origin or residence countries, migrants and/or their descendants of supposed Asian origin were targets of racism and discrimination during the pandemic.

How did migrants withstand or confront the multiple consequences of the pandemic on their lives? Many studies identify the coping strategies of these minoritized people. Many rely on their family, community and ethnic networks (Yen et al., 2021; see also Churski et al., 2021), which can be observed among irregular migrants. Other migrants, specifically those in a regular migration situation, moved to a different sector of the economy to find better jobs (Lan, 2022) or to voluntarily return to their natal countries (Di Martino, 2021), while some migrants simultaneously embraced various combined strategies. In Poland, for instance, regular migrants adopted both problem-focused strategies and emotion-focused ones—the former refers to their search and application for a new job, whereas the latter denotes an emphasis on the “positive aspects” of the pandemic and a focus on “self-development activities and staying productive” through “reading, taking up online courses, exercising, meditating” among others (Dudek, 2021: 54). In France, people of Chinese origin in stable legal migration status and/or citizenship mobilized themselves through activist ways (e.g., use of social media, participation in public and academic debates and discussions about racism, making a short movie and so on) to “deconstruct the stereotypes and prejudices arrayed against them” during the pandemic (Wang et al., 2021: S736). Another example is the case of regular migrant workers in Singapore who were diagnosed with COVID-19. They stayed connected with their families, kept themselves updated on the global situation about the pandemic, accessed healthcare services and practiced their faith and religion (Yee et al., 2021: 4–5). The coping strategies of migrants, regardless of migration status and gender, appear contingent on their personal resources (financial and social) and their receiving countries’ available support structures.

In sum, the literature revisited above shows that the COVID-19 pandemic affected migrants in many ways and exacerbated their vulnerability and precariousness. Irregular migrants (regardless of gender), women migrants (regardless of legal status), and Asian migrants and their descendants (regardless of legal status and gender) seem to be heavily affected by the pandemic. Interestingly, scholars demonstrate that migrants did not allow themselves to be completely undermined by the situation. They demonstrated their agency, evident in their coping strategies against the backdrop of accentuated social inequalities. These converging experiences in terms of the impact of the pandemic and coping strategies diverge mainly at the intersection of migrants’ legal status, gender and supposed ethnic origin. These observations emphasize the importance of paying attention not only to migration status but also to gender and ethnic or national origin when analyzing the converging and diverging points in migrants’ pandemic experiences. The said factors and their intersection may bring out the nuances in their experiences, which most studies overlook as they focus on the negative impact of the pandemic and on a specific group of migrants (regular or irregular) rather than on two or more groups.

Methodology

The present paper results from collaborative research: The first author took care of the analysis of the literature on the COVID-19 pandemic in a migration setting and the French government’s sanitary measures, whereas the second author collected empirical data during her fieldwork in Paris from September to December 2021 and during the last quarter of 2022.

To meet potential respondents for the study, the second author decided to wait in certain subway stations in Paris known to be frequented by Filipinos. Knowing that Filipino migrants in France generally greet one another in public, she reacted in Filipino, saying, “kumusta po?” (how are you?) when they smiled at her first. Only a few Filipinos met at these places exchanged contact information with the researcher and subsequent attempts to reach out to them were unsuccessful. What yielded good results was the second author’s engagement with Filipino associations, including her participation in their gatherings. A person met in an associative milieu provided her with a list of Filipino associations and their leaders. Most of these leaders were open to discussions and extended invitations to their gatherings. These associations connected the researcher to individuals actively providing aid to Filipinos in need during the pandemic. As a result, 28 semi-structured interviews with Filipino migrant workers (17 women and 11 men) were conducted face-to-face or via phone.

The interview guide used during the interviews has three major parts. The first part focuses on migration history or route to France, specifically the questions of migration trajectory from the Philippines, installation in France, labor market incorporation, socio-legal aspects and socio-cultural experiences. The second part examines the social settings in which Filipino migrants are enmeshed: Their social life and relationships, geographical mobility, socio-political life, transnational connections, health issues, and general well-being in France. The third part tackles migrants’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020 to 2021 period, their awareness of sanitary measures, support of and to their families in the Philippines, the general impact of the pandemic on their lives, their present situation, and the steps they took to move forward (Table 1).

Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of interviewed Filipino migrant workers in Paris.

Respondents (names are modified below)	Age	Sex	Year of arrival in France	Migration status	Occupation	Marital status	Family situation
Esmeralda	44	F	2009	Regular	Part-time housekeeper	Married	With family in France
Cassandra	57	F	2009	Regular	Part-time housekeeper	Single mother	With family in the Philippines
Ernesto	56	M	1995	Regular	Full-time housekeeper	Married	With family in France
Jeremy	43	M	2002	Regular	Part-time masseur/caregiver	Married	With family in France
Lucia	37	F	2013	Regular	Full-time nanny	Married	With family in France
Sharon	56	F	2011	Regular	Full-time nanny	Married	With family in the Philippines
Judith	73	F	1999	Regular	Retired (former part-time housekeeper)	Married	With family in the Philippines
Arcadio	60	M	1981	Regular	Full-time restaurant assistant	Married	With children in France
Marilyn	58	F	1993	Regular	Part-time nanny	Married	With family in the Philippines
Vivian	71	F	1990	Regular	Retired but working as part-time nanny	Married	With children in France and the Philippines
Fatima	39	F	2010	Regular	Part-time nanny	Married	With family in France
Margarita	56	F	1991	Regular	Full-time service staff	Single mother	With family in France
Guillermina	60	F	1989	Regular	Part-time housekeeper/nanny	Married	With family in France
Calvin	55	M	1990	Regular	Part-time housekeeper	Married	With family in France
Jude	23	M	2018	Regular	Full-time waiter	Married	With family in France
Marie	46	F	2017	Regular	Part-time housekeeper	Married	With family in France
Philip	68	M	1988	Regular	Retired but working as part-time caregiver/housekeeper	Married	With family in France
Hasmina	60	F	2018	Irregular	Part-time housekeeper/nanny	Married	With a child in the Philippines
Soledad	48	F	2019	Irregular	None (full-time housekeeper before)	Married	With family in the Philippines
Iluminada	57	F	2005	Irregular	Part-time housekeeper	Married	With family in the Philippines
Daniel	45	M	2004	Irregular	Part-time housekeeper	Married	With family in the Philippines
Michelle	32	F	2015	Irregular	Part-time housekeeper	Single mother	With a child in France
Lauro	66	M	2002	Irregular	Full-time housekeeper	Married	With family in the Philippines
Lauren	41	F	2019	Irregular	Full-time housekeeper	Married	With family in the Philippines
Spencer	37	M	2020	Irregular	Part-time housekeeper	Married	With a child in the Philippines
Alex	29	M	2017	Irregular	Part-time nanny	Single	With mother and sister in France
Charlie	47	M	2007	Irregular	Part-time housekeeper	Single	With a sister in France
Elena	70	F	2005	Irregular	Retired but working as part-time housekeeper	Separated	With a daughter in another country

Most of the 28 interviewed Filipinos were aged between 40 and 60 years old. Many of them entered France as tourists. Upon entering the country, 22 respondents stayed with either friends or family members, whereas the other five relied on meeting a compatriot by chance who could welcome them in their homes. Among the interviewees, 18 were housekeepers, four were nannies, three were retired workers (who work from time to time when invited by their former employers), one was a massage therapist or caregiver, one was working part-time in a restaurant, and another was an office service staff. Nineteen respondents work on a part-time basis, while nine were full-time workers. In this latter group, one respondent was unemployed at the time of the interview but was a full-time worker before. Interviewed full-time employees in the service sector worked alone or with another Filipino worker who could be their spouse or partner. On the contrary, respondents with part-time job(s) worked either a few hours per day due to limited employment opportunities or during long hours for multiple employers. Filipino migrant women with small schooling children prefer the latter set-up as they can easily excuse themselves from work if their children need them.

Regarding their migration status, 17 were regular migrants and 11 were in irregular migration situation. The median time for the regular migrant respondents to obtain their first residence permit is about eight years, depending on their family situation (with or without children). Compared to those who arrived in France from the 1990s onwards, the respondents who entered France in the 1980s recalled a much more relaxed migration policy and remarked that France was very welcoming to visitors at that time. Despite the increased restrictions on immigration in France, the respondents emphasized the socio-economic opportunities they could access more easily in their receiving country than in the Philippines, notably in the French service sector.

Filipino migrants in the French service sector

Since the latter part of the 1970s, Filipino migration to France has been oriented towards the service sector, notably in paid domestic work in the realm of the home (Fresnoza-Flot, 2013; Mozère, 2005). Filipino migrant women have been widely employed in this occupation, but in recent years, Filipino migrant men also started to engage themselves in the same line of work (Scrinzi, 2005), either due to difficulty in finding “masculine” jobs or due to the increased opportunities in the domestic work sector. Filipino men and women find economic opportunities in this sector.

The salary of domestic workers in France is based on the minimum wage of 11.27 euros (€) (US$ 12.76) per hour (Direction de l’information légale et administrative, 2023). One interviewed Filipino migrant remarked that it was possible to earn higher wages if one had solid experience and was good at speaking for oneself. Bonuses and other perks are at the discretion of the employers. Given such an employment situation, it is unsurprising that Filipino migrants in France heavily concentrate on the domestic service sector.

To access this sector, the respondents highlighted their different opportunities in France. They pointed out that there is training for regular migrants to obtain skills and qualifications in childminding, home cleaning or cooking. Some of the respondents received financial assistance during training. There are also free French language classes offered. For example, an irregular migrant interviewed benefited from these classes of a French organization that valorizes home- and family-based professions. Despite his irregular migration status, this respondent qualified for the language program as he met its requirements, specifically the condition to submit his pay slips during the last three months. Since his employer legally declared his job, his hours spent studying French were monetized based on his hourly salary. The respondent took advantage of this opportunity as it could help him with his work and general day-to-day activities.

Depending on their migration status, the respondents experienced paid domestic work differently. Those with regular migration status are paid accordingly. They have work contracts and are entitled to breaks, vacations, bonuses and social security benefits. On the contrary, their irregular counterparts take the first available jobs in the labor market and accept whatever salary is offered. No contracts are signed, and they are only paid if there is work rendered. They do not have social security benefits but can access the State Medical Assistance (AME) that pays up to 100 percent of health services for life-threatening or possibly serious, long-term changes in the health status of the person or unborn child (André and Azzedine, 2016; Chauvin et al., 2009). In addition, children (that is, those aged under 18 years old) of undocumented migrants are not regarded as undocumented and not subject to the requirement to have resided in the country for at least three months; they are eligible for social security and solidarity health compliments (Complémentaire santé solidaire) with all expenses paid in full (Chauvin et al., 2009). The AME scheme, designed to fight social exclusion, was implemented in 2000 to provide undocumented migrants with health protection. It relates to foreigners who experience financial hardships and live in precarious conditions. An applicant must have lived within the French territory for over three months, earn less than € 9571 per year and provide evidence of their identification and residence address (L’Assurance maladie, 2022).

In brief, Filipino regular migrants in the French service sector can be distinguished from their irregular counterparts based on several key features. First, they have legal status, which allows them to access domestic work contracts. Second, they enjoy economic security and stability thanks to their legally declared work. Third, they have unlimited access to social security benefits, including healthcare. Given their legally secured situation, regular Filipino migrants may experience fewer economic difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic than irregular migrants. Nonetheless, the supportive social structure in France may mitigate the effects of irregularity and unstable work situation on these irregular migrants.

French state measures during the pandemic

During 2020 to 2021, the French state implemented many sanitary and social measures. There were aids provided to specific sectors of the economy and most fragile segments of the population, such as households, old persons, homeless people and youth aged 16 to 25. These measures did not directly target the domestic service sector, but workers in this sector benefited from other state services.

I have been living in France for 27 years. I am a part-timer for employers, which are all declared. I am still working for the same employer for 21 years now. I was paid 80 percent of my salary during the lockdown; some of my employers even gave extra (payment) to complete the 100 percent. (Ernesto, regular migrant)

The first form of state service received by Filipino respondents—specifically those in regular migration situation like Ernesto above—is related to employment. Through its “Partial activity of long duration” scheme (Activité partielle de longue durée - APLD), the French government offered compensation plans for workers. This scheme is implemented in the event that individuals’ professional activities are reduced or temporarily interrupted (see, Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique, 2022). It only covers legally declared workers (migrants and non-migrants) with employment contracts. During the first lockdown in the country, workers were paid 70 to 80 percent of their gross salary, and some employers provided additional funds to cover the remaining percent of their wages.

Aside from employment-related compensation, the French government’s vaccination program, which initially targeted the most vulnerable people such as the elderly, has offered free vaccines to everyone, including regular and irregular migrants. Migrants without supporting documents only need to provide their full names to get an appointment date and an ad hoc health number. Access to vaccines appeared easy as there were vaccination centers in all municipalities and, eventually, in pharmacies. The French government was very active in its publicity campaigns in print (newspapers, magazines, flyers, posters, billboards), video advertising (online, television), audio channels (radio, podcast) and social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter). It encouraged social distancing, wearing face masks and handwashing, among others, to avoid COVID-19 infection. Though these campaigns were conducted in French, they were successful in delivering their messages visually.

Given that the French vaccination program was opened to both regular and irregular migrants, all respondents felt lucky to be residing in France at the time of the pandemic. All of them were vaccinated except for one who decided to get vaccinated in two years to see the possible effects of what she said was a “hurriedly formulated” vaccine. Among the respondents, only four contracted COVID. Concerning retired respondents, one explained that her benefits continued without pause during the pandemic. A steady pantry supply, such as canned cooked meals, bread, toiletries, masks and sanitizing products, was delivered to her apartment every Tuesday as part of a government program for retired regular migrants.

The primary goal of French labor measures during the COVID-19 pandemic was to protect jobs, stabilize the economy and support businesses. Key initiatives included furlough schemes (partial unemployment benefits), financial aid for small and medium enterprises, and support for remote working. These measures aimed to prevent mass layoffs and maintain worker incomes during lockdowns and economic slowdowns. Additionally, the government introduced health protocols in workplaces to ensure employees’ safety, helping balance public health with economic activity. This amalgam of state measures and programs could alleviate the negative impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations such as irregular migrants.

A point of divergence: Work conditions and emotional difficulties

The Filipino migrants interviewed in our study experienced the COVID-19 pandemic differently in terms of work conditions and emotional difficulties. Specifically, irregular migrants felt the blows of the pandemic like the case of one respondent below.

I engage in part-time jobs. I do not have a contract. During the pandemic, NO WORK, NO PAY (emphasis by the researcher). The money I got was at the discretion of my employer. The others did not give. (Soledad, irregular migrant)

For Soledad and other irregular migrants interviewed, not being qualified for the allowance from the “Partial activity of long duration” scheme did not matter much. What was important for them was to have a source of income through employment to withstand the pandemic. Irregular migrant respondents felt fortunate if their employers were considerate. For instance, during the first lockdown in March 2020, two respondents were requested by their employers to work occasionally. It was hard for them to resist for fear of not earning anything at the end of the month. Even if their employers got infected by COVID, they required them to work while following sanitary protocols. The employers isolated themselves in their bedrooms, while the two interviewed Filipinos worked wearing masks. Their employers provided them with a work certificate in case of police control. They also paid them a full salary for the first month of the lockdown but only paid half the said salary for the following month. By 11 May, the two interviewed Filipino migrants returned to work after a swab test and received full salary for that month. The case of these respondents seems exceptional as other irregular migrants interviewed reported job loss like the case below.

I am an undocumented single mother; I only get part-time jobs because my daughter also needs me. I eventually lost my work during the pandemic because I could not report to work, to stay with my child. I was not able to pay the rent for several months. (Michelle, irregular migrant)

Michelle’s experience above underlines how one’s intersecting family situation, irregular migration status, gender and paid work may lead to job loss. Employers also played an important role in the job loss of some respondents. One interviewee stopped working when one of his employers told him not to come for work anymore. Another interviewed migrant lost her job when her employer changed jobs and their schedules did not meet. Likewise, when couple domestic workers interviewed returned to work after the first lockdown, their employers dismissed the husband from work. The latter could not complain due to his intersecting undeclared job and irregular migration status. This latter factor affected respondents’ access to the government’s salary compensation scheme, pushing them to work, thereby increasing the probability of contracting the virus, as one respondent below confided.

The employers asked us to work during the lockdown. We needed money. We eventually contracted COVID through our employers. They were sick and do (sic) not say anything. (Lauren, irregular migrant)

Because of interlinked legal and work precariousness, irregular migrants interviewed suffered from emotional difficulties. One respondent shared his fear of being deported: “I only go out to buy food. I am more scared of the police than the virus” (Alex, irregular migrant). Another respondent below explained his emotional state at the time of the pandemic.

STRESSED! (emphasis by the researcher) During the pandemic, I was not allowed to report to work by my employers. I was inside a small apartment, thinking, afraid to go out. Where will I get money to pay for expenses? Psychological torture! (Charlie, irregular migrant)

Unlike migrants in irregular situation, regular migrants interviewed benefitted from the “Partial activity of long duration” scheme, which allowed them to survive the pandemic period economically and avoid contracting COVID. It also gave them the possibility to refuse their employers’ demands. For example, knowing they would be paid even if they did not work, three respondents refused their employers who asked them to work even during lockdown. They all politely informed their employers that their health was important to them and that they thought about the welfare of their own families. Some of the employers did not take such reasoning lightly. Eventually, one respondent was fired, whereas the other reported that her employer’s treatment of her was no longer the same.

My employer wanted me to go to work during the lockdown. I did not agree because I fear for my health, and besides, I am paid anyway. And since we have a contract, I still work for them, but the relationship is not the same as before. (Sharon, regular migrant)

Disapproving of Sharon’s decision, the employer above treated her in a cold and unfriendly manner. Among regular migrants interviewed, those working as part-time domestic workers reported delays in paying their salaries. They did not complain but instead waited and contented themselves that they would certainly receive their salaries, which they did after one to three months. In the case of respondents whose employers only declared some hours of their total work time, the salary they received was at the discretion of their employers. They could not complain if the amount they got was lower than the legally prescribed amount based on the “Partial activity of long duration” scheme. Despite this situation, these migrants and other regular migrant respondents appear generally in better economic conditions than their irregular migrant counterparts during the pandemic, echoing previous studies’ findings (e.g., Borjas and Cassidy, 2020). The economic support they received from the French government and the fact that they had stable legal status in the country made them less prone to psychological stress during the pandemic, unlike their irregular migrant counterparts. As one respondent remarked, “Being a legal resident in France, I am never scared wherever I go because I will not be deported” (Margarita, regular migrant).

A point of convergence: Restricted spatial mobility and impact confrontation

During the pandemic, the French government urged the people to avoid gatherings wherever possible and only to leave the house to buy necessities such as food and medicine. Walking or exercising outside was limited to one hour and a valid identification together with a signed and dated declaration was required. At the same time, travel abroad was strictly prohibited. The Philippines would sometimes be flagged “red” in France, meaning there was a high level and probability of COVID-19 infections. Likewise, the high number of COVID-19 infection cases in France drove the Philippines to close its borders to people coming from this country. Because of the above state control of people’s spatial mobility, all the respondents, regardless of their migration status, underwent restricted spatial mobility at local and transnational levels and confronted its impact.

I basically stayed at home. I was so bored! I am not used to staying at home all the time. I wanted to leave but I think about my health; what if I get infected? Of course, I think about that. Sometimes I feel sick, but it’s all in my head. I was scared. (Arcadio, regular migrant)

Restricted mobility at the local level had brought challenges to respondents like Arcadio, notably those living with their family members in apartments with limited spaces. One mother interviewed confided that her apartment was very small and that when she contracted the virus, her son got infected too. Other respondents who were living with their families felt suffocated in their apartments. To confront their difficulties, many would leave very early in the morning to travel to a nearby town or to frequent large open spaces and spend the day there. The respondents could not access a variety of establishments but only selected ones that the French government considered vital to the nation, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, newsstands and gas stations.

Interestingly, respondents living with their family members in France underlined the emotional proximity that developed among them when they were obliged to stay home. They bonded as a family during the pandemic, as parents had more time with their children and children took advantage of playing more with their parents. Before the pandemic, household members were busy with their own activities. They would only see each other in the morning and in the early evening. With the confinement, everyone needed to adjust to everyone, as one respondent below explained.

We just realized during the pandemic the sense of quality time. Pre-pandemic, my husband and I were both working parents and gone to work the whole day, while our kids (since they started schooling at 3 years old) were also at school from 8:30 AM to 7 PM. We just saw each other at night. On weekends, the kids had their extracurricular activities, while we sometimes worked more. I also attended classes on Sundays. During the pandemic, when everything was paralyzed, no school, not going to work, only then did we appreciate giving quality time to the children. The children as well enjoyed time with us. (Fatima, regular migrant)

The state’s prohibition to travel abroad made many respondents postpone their plans to visit the Philippines. When there was an emergency back home, the respondents could not go home. For example, one respondent bore the pain of not being able to return to the Philippines in 2021 to attend the funeral of her parents. She was only able to reunite online with her siblings. Online communications between the respondents and their stay-behind families alleviated their worries about one another. The use of social media and communication apps had never been so exploited as it was during the first lockdown. Families reunited through audio or video calls via Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber and so on. Chatting and sharing of pictures and videos were prevalent, to update family members and friends. A couple of respondents confided that their families in the Philippines contracted the virus. They appreciated that they could communicate easily with them and monitor their health status and financial needs easily.

My family in the Philippines and I monitor each other through Messenger. I always reminded them to wear mask, especially my grandchildren. I am sure if we were together, we would have gone through the pandemic with no worries because we had each other; but since we were not, we reminded each other to take care, go for vaccination. My children also reminded me to take my medication regularly. (Marilyn, irregular migrant)

To fulfill their family roles from afar and to compensate for their inability to return home for a visit, the respondents strived to send remittances to their stay-behind families. One father interviewed explained that he always sent remittances during the pandemic and even doubled the amount from time to time. Another respondent said that she sometimes supported her siblings, nieces and nephews financially, but only for what was urgent and necessary. The capacity to send remittances during the pandemic depended on the respondents’ income, health condition and family situation. A few respondents who lost their jobs during the pandemic did not send financial support back home as they had to live with what was left in their savings. Charlie (irregular worker) remarked, “Due to no work, no pay, I was not able to send remittance for three months. My family understood my situation. It was hard.” This shows how irregular migration status that limited one’s access to work during the pandemic can affect one’s capacity to fulfill family obligations for stay-behind kin.

Soledad (irregular worker), who had cancer, stopped remitting when she started her medication and chemotherapy. She kept the last salary she received to finance personal expenses while out of work. Her experience as an undocumented migrant battling cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic paints a picture of resilience amidst adversity. Despite financial instability and the fear of losing her job, Soledad initially delayed seeking medical attention for a lump in her breast due to her sense of obligation to her family back home and her need to continue working. When she finally informed her employer about her symptoms, the employer quickly took action to help her receive medical care, even navigating the difficulties of securing appointments during the pandemic. During the pandemic, Soledad’s vulnerability was heightened. Due to her high-risk status, her employer was adamant about finding her a nearby vaccination center to ensure her safety. Financially, Soledad was forced to stop sending money to her family in the Philippines, adding to her emotional burden. Despite this, she relied heavily on the support of the local Filipino community, receiving aid and donations to help her survive the challenging period. Their community’s solidarity and the employer’s support provided a lifeline during the pandemic. Soledad’s experience encapsulates the precarious nature of life for irregular migrants, who face additional challenges accessing healthcare and maintaining financial stability. However, through the compassion of her employer and the Filipino migrant community, she found hope and assistance during one of the most difficult periods of her life.

Another respondent, who could not take up domestic work due to kidney failure (undergoing dialysis), only sent remittances from time to time as her children were already grown up and working. During the pandemic, for example, she only sent remittances to her son, who lost his job. There are also cases in which a few respondents were unable to send for two months as they could not easily go to a bank or to a remittance shop due to the French government’s restrictions on local spatial mobility.

Discussion and conclusion

In this paper, we highlight two interesting aspects of the pandemic experiences of Filipino migrants interviewed in Paris. These aspects reveal the nuances in their experiences and underline their individual and collective agencies.

The first aspect refers to a point of divergence between regular and irregular Filipino migrants. This divergence stems from the migrants’ relative work condition and emotional difficulties, which at the micro-level stems from their migration status (regular or irregular) intersecting with other factors such as gender, family situation (i.e., with or without children, with dependent family members back home or not) and mode of employment (part-time or full-time). At the meso level, employers’ relative attitude (i.e., demanding work or not, declaring all the work hours or not) towards their Filipino domestic worker employees also varies the impact of the pandemic on interviewed respondents. At the macro level, larger structural forces, specifically the French government’s sanitary and social measures, did shape Filipino migrants’ pandemic experiences. Our finding contradicts our initial supposition that irregular migrants would not be affected much by the pandemic, given that their receiving country’s healthcare services were accessible to them. They received the pandemic’s economic and emotional blows stronger than their regular migrant counterparts, not only due to their unstable work situation but also because their irregular migration status most often intersected with other factors at the micro, meso and macro levels of their lives. Their plight echoes the case of other migrants in the same legal situation who experienced despair and job loss, among others (Gosselin et al., 2021; Hu, 2020; Suhardiman et al., 2021).

The second aspect of our respondents’ experiences points to their converging situations characterized by restricted spatial mobility and active responses to the impact of the pandemic. Interestingly, although they uttered dismal narratives about the pandemic, the respondents counterbalanced them by sharing their positive experiences, such as reinforced proximate relations with family members, easy access to vaccination and accentuating feelings of solidarity with fellow Filipino migrants. This point sets apart the present study from a grand majority of works unveiling the pandemic’s negative consequences on human life, which unintentionally neglects its unexpected positive effects not only on the natural environment but also on micro-level human relationships. This latter scholarly tendency risks reinforcing victimizing discourses concerning vulnerable populations, overlooking herein the capacity of these people to give meaning to their situation and to adopt strategies to confront pandemic-related challenges.

Overall, the case study in our paper calls for nuancing pandemic experiences and human agency within a global health crisis by taking into account intersecting factors in the lives of regular and irregular migrants. It opens doors for possible research topics on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the migrant population. First, there is a need for studies on the way migrant women and men experience the pandemic in different national contexts. Second, the children of migrants will be an interesting focus of future research to find out how the pandemic has affected them, notably their schooling and sociality. And third, it would be interesting to know how the pandemic reconfigured transnational family lives of both migrants and non-migrants.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Itaru Nagasaka, coordinator of the JSPS-funded research project “A comparative research on mobilities, representations and social relationships among migrant workers under the Pandemic” (2021 to 2024). Their case study was made possible by his all-out support, the trust of the study respondents and the help of Filipino associations.

ORCID iD

Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot

Ethical considerations

The proposal of the research project to which this case study attached was reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, in 2021 (Reception Number: 03-05).

Consent to participate

The respondents gave their oral consent to participate in the present case study.

Consent for publication

The respondents were informed during the fieldwork that the results of the case study would be published and that their names and other identifiable information would be pseudonymized to protect their privacy.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors received funding for fieldwork from Itaru Nagasaka’s international collaborative research project funded by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 21H00646.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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