The transition from care is a critical phase for care leavers in general, and even more complex for those who have arrived in Sweden as unaccompanied minors and belong to an ethnic minority group. The aim of this article is to examine unaccompanied minors’ experiences of leaving care, and to explore the experience in relation to perceptions about ethnicity and culture within a transnational space. Interviews were completed with 11 care leavers who had been received in Sweden as unaccompanied minors. The results show that these young people have to deal with multiple adjustments. Conquering obstacles as care leavers involves not only resolving general issues such as reintegration into society, but also adjustment to perceived and created views of how to become Swedish. From the young people’s point of view, this seems to be necessary to make a successful transition from care into adulthood.
This article provides: a review of earlier research on unaccompanied minors’ experiences of transition from care into adulthood, a description of the Swedish context, the research question that is explored, a theoretical framework of transnationalism, a description of the methodology utilized in the study, a results section which discusses isolation and “cultural baggage,” several quotes from interviews young people, a discussion on becoming a “transmigrant” and the situational identities of these young people, and a conclusion section.