Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore
Transnationalism is often perceived as an agentic practice in migration studies. While acknowledging such agency, we argue that transnationalism also involves forced-choice decision-making by migrants whose work and daily lives are subjected to structural constraints beyond individual control. We em...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2025
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182575 |
| _version_ | 1824454427280408576 |
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| author | Zhan, Shaohua Zhou, Min |
| author2 | School of Social Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Social Sciences Zhan, Shaohua Zhou, Min |
| author_sort | Zhan, Shaohua |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Transnationalism is often perceived as an agentic practice in migration studies. While acknowledging such agency, we argue that transnationalism also involves forced-choice decision-making by migrants whose work and daily lives are subjected to structural constraints beyond individual control. We employ the concept of ‘involuntary transnationalism’ to capture this often-neglected dimension of transnationalism. Based on analysis of survey data and in-depth interviews of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore, we find that skilled foreign migrants face employment insecurity and other vulnerabilities largely due to visa regulations and that they have to turn to transnationalism as a coping strategy to mitigate precarity and temporality. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:22:08Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/182575 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:22:08Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1825752025-02-10T06:12:29Z Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore Zhan, Shaohua Zhou, Min School of Social Sciences Social Sciences Involuntary transnationalism Singapore Transnationalism is often perceived as an agentic practice in migration studies. While acknowledging such agency, we argue that transnationalism also involves forced-choice decision-making by migrants whose work and daily lives are subjected to structural constraints beyond individual control. We employ the concept of ‘involuntary transnationalism’ to capture this often-neglected dimension of transnationalism. Based on analysis of survey data and in-depth interviews of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore, we find that skilled foreign migrants face employment insecurity and other vulnerabilities largely due to visa regulations and that they have to turn to transnationalism as a coping strategy to mitigate precarity and temporality. Ministry of Education (MOE) The research for this paper is supported by a Tier 1 Grant (RG61/24) from the Ministry of Education of Singapore and a Tier 2 grant (MOE2015-T2-2-027) from the same ministry. 2025-02-10T06:12:29Z 2025-02-10T06:12:29Z 2024 Journal Article Zhan, S. & Zhou, M. (2024). Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore. International Migration. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/imig.13359 0020-7985 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182575 10.1111/imig.13359 2-s2.0-85210966738 en RG61/24 MOE2015-T2-2-027 International Migration © 2024 International Organization for Migration. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Social Sciences Involuntary transnationalism Singapore Zhan, Shaohua Zhou, Min Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore |
| title | Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore |
| title_full | Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore |
| title_fullStr | Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore |
| title_full_unstemmed | Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore |
| title_short | Involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity: lived experiences of skilled Chinese and Indian migrants in Singapore |
| title_sort | involuntary transnationalism and regulated precarity lived experiences of skilled chinese and indian migrants in singapore |
| topic | Social Sciences Involuntary transnationalism Singapore |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182575 |
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