Permanent migrants and temporary citizens: multinational Chinese mobilities in the Americas

Abstract

In this article, I examine the multinational mobility and citizenship practices of ethnic Chinese who moved to Chile after living in another Latin American country. Despite being permanent residents or Chilean citizens, some hope to return to a previous country of residence in Latin America. Based on 18 semi‐structured interviews conducted between October 2016 and August 2018, their experiences illuminate two aspects of multinational migrations. First, unlike pre‐planned serial migrations of global elites or ‘step‐wise’ migrant workers, these multinational mobilities are nonlinear and open‐ended, due to their contingence on volatile and racialized political economies. Second, unlike transnational migrants who typically maintain links to ‘origin’ countries, they seldom visit China or Taiwan, and instead visit other countries in the Americas, due to business, familial, and affective ties. I discuss the main factors shaping the contingent nature of their mobilities and attachments to Chile, which influences the multiple onward pathways possible in their futures.

Itinerant labour: conceptualising circular, serial and stepwise migrations to the Arab Gulf and onwards

“…Stepwise migrations to the West have been observed among several categories of Asian temporary workers in the Gulf and elsewhere (Carlos, 2013;Chan, 2020;Paul, 2011). Yet, it is argued by several researchers that relatively few low-skilled temporary migrants from Asia manage to climb to top-tier countries in the West (Parreñas et al, 2019;Paul, 2015).…”

“…Researchers have tried to conceptualise the notions of multinational migrations using various terms, such as repeated, secondary serial, onward and stepwise migrations. These notions convey complex migrations that may have linear, circular, lateral and hierarchical trajectories (Chan, 2020;Ossman, 2004;Paul, 2011;Paul & Yeoh, 2020;Takenaka, 2007;Toma & Castagnone, 2015;Zufferey, 2019). Paul's (2011) study on Filipino domestic workers shows that such migrations may have a stepwise character, where the migrants attempt to climb a hierarchy of potential destinations (Paul, 2011(Paul, , 2015.…”

“…In some cases, people move onwards directly, while in others, they first return to their home country before they move to a third country (recall types II and III in Figure 1). Direct migrations are observed among several categories of distant migrants, such as Chinese migrants in South America and various categories of African and Asian migrants in Europe (Chan, 2020;Kalir, 2013;Toma & Castagnone, 2015). Secondary migrations of mixed migrants and refugees may also take the form of direct serial migrations or fragmented migrations (Collyer, 2010;Valenta et al, 2020).…”

“…Methodological nationalism in data production has contributed to the general perspective that migration is a one-time phenomenon (Wimmer & Schiller, 2003;Kalir, 2013;Toma & Castagnone, 2015;Paul & Yeoh, 2020). Such stagnant paradigms are also maintained by the practical difficulties related to gathering extensive data on complex multinational migration trajectories and transnational practices that span migrants' life cycles (Chan, 2020;Zufferey, 2019). However, in recent years, an increasing number of studies have indicated that a significant proportion of migrants engage in transnational practices and may change several host countries during their life cycles (Chan, 2020;Valenta & Ramet, 2011;Parreñas et al, 2019;Takenaka, 2007;Toma & Castagnone, 2015;Valenta & Strabac, 2013;Zufferey, 2019).…”