For a better life: Brazilians in London

The research reported here was conducted by GEB with the purpose of gathering data to better understand the Brazilian experiences of living in London. The last few years have seen an increasing interest among scholars in issues relating to the Brazilian community in the UK, and particularly in London, where a large part of it is concentrated. Research by Brightwell (2010), Dias (2010), Frangella (2010) and Souza (2010) reflect this growing academic attention. Brazilians in London are one of the groups that make up the so-called ‘new immigration’ that has been pivotal to the emergence of the phenomenon of 'superdiversity’ in the UK (Vertovec, 2007). Despite the impossibility of accurately ascertaining the size of the Brazilian community, Brazilian authorities estimate that between 150,000 and 300,000 Brazilians now live in the UK (MRE, 2009), thereby representing a sizeable community whose interaction with the host society deserves greater attention. Thus, through its research, the GEB seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the experiences of the different groups that comprise the Brazilian community in the UK. As far as is known, this constitutes only the second quantitative study of this community and, while it cannot be said to be wholly representative, the GEB believes that the results reflect the experiences of many Brazilians living in London.