Stratified Mothers/Stratified Wives: Immigration Status, Reproduction, and Citizenship of Chinese Marriage-related Migrants in Hong Kong

• In Event: 549 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Migration and Integration in China

Abstract

Early studies on the citizenship and social exclusion of Mainland Chinese migrants in Hong Kong have favored the need for quality productive labor under global restructuring in their analyses. Using an intersectionality approach, this article demonstrates that social reproduction and immigration status intersecting with gender, class, and nationality are crucial in constituting the stratified citizenship of Mainland Chinese marriage-related migrants in Hong Kong, particularly during the policy changes made since late 2002. While most citizenship studies on marriage migrants in East Asian countries have primarily focused on women, this study compares the differential paths to permanent residency and the varying social entitlements of Mainland citizen-children and migrant wives of the Mainland or other nationalities entering Hong Kong via different immigration schemes. It highlights the differential evaluation of their contribution to the social reproduction of family and society by the state structured by their immigration status and other intersectional inequalities.

Author

• Clara Wai-chun To, Hong Kong Institute of Education