The influence of the hukou system on the experience of internal migration of Chinese international students in Shanghai

As an important sending country for international student mobility (ISM), China sends many students abroad for higher education, most of whom return after graduation. Most returnees migrate internally from their places of origin to developed Chinese cities. However, no study has examined how hukou, the Chinese internal migration regulatory system, affects their experience of ISM and their internal migration in China. To fill this gap, this study explores the effects of the hukou system on various stages of Chinese ISM, including students’ decisions to study abroad and to migrate internally after returning to China. This research is based on a qualitative study in Shanghai that involved 90 interviewees, including 50 international graduates who had returned from the UK or Hong Kong, 20 human resource staff based in Shanghai, and 20 other actors, including hukou brokers (individuals who benefit from providing hukou-related services), organisers of online returnees’ communities, and alumni associations. This study produced three key findings: (1) Overcoming hukou restrictions is an important motivation for Chinese students to study abroad, (2) returnees’ hukou status can influence their employment outcomes in developed Chinese cities, and (3) returnees face diverse difficulties concerning their hukou applications in developed Chinese cities and have to seek help from other actors. By examining returnees’ hukou applications in Shanghai, this study contributes to the ISM literature by emphasising (a) the considerable institutional barriers to internal migration faced by Chinese international graduates, (b) the diversity of Chinese international students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and its effect on their responses to the restrictions of the hukou system, and (c) the effects of policies in ISM-sending countries on the global ISM landscape.

Presented by Erli Kang. 

Erli is a PhD candidate in Human Geography at the University of St Andrews. Before moving to the UK, he completed his MA in Urban Social Geography at the University of Calgary, Canada, and worked as a researcher at Fudan University, China. Erli’s research has been funded by the University of Calgary, the University of St Andrews, the Government of Shanghai and the Ministry of Education, China.

Erli’s PhD project focuses on Chinese international students and their experiences with internal migration after returning. His research examines how the intersection of class, urban governance, labour market, and social networks can shape individuals’ ISM experiences and outcomes. His research highlights the effects of internal migration and ISM-related policies in ISM-sending countries on various stages of individuals’ ISM. He has presented his studies at the 12^th International Conference on Population Geographies and the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference and published part of his studies in Population, Space and Place.