<p>This study aimed to explore the role of local social networks in international migration and formation of migration culture in a Kurdish borderland village in Sardasht County in Iranian Kurdistan, Qalla Rash. After a border blockade by the Iranian government in the 2000s, most of the residents of this village who made their living through smuggling commodities lost their jobs. Since then, international migration began, particularly to England. Based on ethnographic approach and in-depth interviews with 22 participants in this village, this study explored the migration culture in Qalla Rash. Findings indicate the great role of remittances and local networks in stimulating and facilitating international migration. Accordingly, traditional networks for cooperation and mutual support in agriculture and border smuggling in this village have now been shifted to the international migration process. Family/kinship, peer/friendship, and fellow-villager networks significantly influence young villagers, through mechanisms such as encouragement, persuasion, and social sanctions, to migrate to Europe. These networks have transformed Qalla Rash into a “migrant village” and “village of migrants’ families” as well. In fact, there is a dialectical interaction between expanding local social networks and the reinforcement of migration culture. The normalization of migration has contributed to growth of these networks, further embedding migration as a recognized social value. This study illustrates the mechanism of “symbolic accumulation” that is specific to border and marginalized regions. In this village, the accumulation of social and financial capital resulting from migration not only makes migration easier, but also makes it costly for young people to stay. Our findings show that in this securitized community, a feedback loop operates through stigmatization of non-migration.</p>