Abstract
Despite the growing literature on cross-border marriages, the experiences of single marriage migrants have rarely been put under the spotlight. While marriage migrants generally experience legal precarity due to the prolonged process of legal transition under the restrictive immigration policies, single marriage migrants are further disadvantaged as their rights to immigrate into the host society are forfeited when their marriage with a local citizen is dissolved. This irregular state of legal nonexistence has not only marginalized the single marriage migrants but also jeopardized the wellbeing of their children. Drawing on interview data with 25 single marriage migrant mothers from Mainland China, this paper illuminates how the Hong Kong government governs cross-border marriage migration and regulates the dissolution of crossborder marriages and allocation of legal rights to single marriage migrants through a “marrytocracy-based” immigration system. It first elucidates how widowed, divorced, and separated migrant mothers experienced different degrees of legal precarity given the hidden yet hierarchical framework of legitimacy underpinning the immigration system. It then shows how the negative effects of their legal precarity might spill over to their children. By presenting how non-governmental organizations assisted single migrant mothers to claim residency and social rights through the discretion of the authority, the social services challenges that the non-governmental organizations faced will be discussed.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 23 Jun 2022 |
| Event | International Symposium on Social Policy and Social Services Challenges in the Greater Bay Area - Lingnan University / Zoom , Hong Kong Duration: 23 Jun 2022 → 23 Jun 2022 https://ln.edu.hk/sgs/international-symposium-on-social-policy-and-social-services-challenges-in-the-greater-bay-area |
Symposium
| Symposium | International Symposium on Social Policy and Social Services Challenges in the Greater Bay Area |
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| Country/Territory | Hong Kong |
| Period | 23/06/22 → 23/06/22 |
| Other | An International Symposium on Social Policy and Social Services Challenges in the Greater Bay Area will be held on 23 June 2022 in a hybrid and bilingual mode. The symposium is co-organised by the Asia Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies and Lingnan University-South China University of Technology Joint Research Centre for Greater Bay Area Social Policy and Governance, and is also supported by the School of Graduate Studies, Institute of Policy Studies, and Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University. This International Symposium will be joined by a group of respected scholars worldwide to share their latest research and perspectives concerning social policy and social services challenges in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). The themes will be explored at the Symposium include 1) The GBA Development and Implications for Cities and Urban Governance and 2) Social Services Challenges in the GBA. |
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