Navigating selective belonging. Intersectional everyday experiences of privileged migrants in Barcelona

This paper examines the everyday experiences of privileged migrants in Barcelona, analysing how economic, legal, and cultural resources shape differentiated forms of belonging. Drawing on a qualitative intersectional approach combining in-depth interviews and the Relief Maps methodology, the study situates Barcelona as a revealing case: a city in southern Europe yet embedded within the Global North, combining cosmopolitan dynamics with strong local identities and linguistic particularities. The analysis identifies two interrelated forms of selective belonging. First, institutional selective belonging emerges from migrants’ economic and cultural resources, which allow them to navigate state, linguistic, and social structures with significant autonomy, positioning them both inside and outside local frameworks. Second, socially mediated selective belonging operates through perception, where inclusion and exclusion depend on how bodies, accents, and origins are read rather than on individual choice. Overall, the findings show that privilege enables differentiated forms of belonging without dismantling local hierarchies. The study contributes to debates on elite migration and privilege by showing how global mobility is embedded in local hierarchies and produces context-dependent inequalities.