Migrating to Learn and Learning to Migrate: A Study of the Experiences and Intentions of International Student Migrants

Abstract

This paper addresses the under-researched issue of international student migration by focusing on two samples of Hong Kong undergraduates, one studying in the UK, the other in Hong Kong. With the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in mid-1997, the colony provides an excellent arena for migration studies in the context of economic opportunities clouded by socio-political uncertainty. Sending children abroad for education is sometimes used by parents as a strategy for protecting their children, and indirectly themselves, against any undesirable eventuality associated with the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. The research reported here evaluates whether students come to the UK mainly for educational reasons, and therefore perceive their stay as temporary, or whether emigration for study is being used as part of a conscious strategy by people intending to become future labour migrants. A major aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the migration intentions and perceptions of students studying at universities in Hong Kong with those of Hong Kong students based in the UK. The simplest interpretation of the results appears to be that migration, experienced as a result of international moves for study purposes, does not influence planning of further migration moves. But the research also indicates that migration for education is closely tied to other types of population redistribution and should be treated by population geographers as an integral part of international migration systems. The paper concludes by presenting three paradoxes associated with the presence of Hong Kong students in the UK.