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Abstract
This paper aims at providing a general picture of how the citizenship migration nexus currently unfolds in China and in the European Union (EU). Although China is a nation state and the EU is a supranational entity, both entities are characterised by internal and external politico-legal borders delineating two self-contained migration areas. Drawing on a definition of citizenship which transcends its usual national connotation, this paper will review and compare how different migration categories available to individuals on the move (citizens and non-citizens) come with differential accesses to citizenship rights within the two contexts. The comparison will show that in spite of different approaches towards irregular migration, welfare and humanitarian issues, current categories of migration within these two migration regimes converge in the way in which they grant differential access to citizenship rights based on the (assumed) economic worth of individuals on the move. The final part of this paper reflects upon the lessons that each system could draw from the other and postulates such convergence as an indicator of the correlation between the granting of citizenship rights and neoliberal imperatives in the governance of migration worldwide.
Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on this paper.
Disclosure statement
The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.
Notes
1 Estimates from China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/pressrelease/201702/t20170228_1467503.html
2 Estimated to be at 272 million according to the 2019 UNDESA International Migration Report. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/wallchart/docs/MigrationStock2019_Wallchart.pdf
3 Estimated at 1.030.900 million according to the 2019 UNDESA International Migration Report, Ibid.
4 The 2018 latest statistics included the UK, currently in the process of exiting the Union. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Migration_and_migrant_population_statistics
5 See, for China: Fan, China on the Move; Nyíri, Mobility and Cultural Authority; Xiang, “A New Mobility Regime”. For the EU, among many: Guild (ed), Security and Migration; Amaya-Castro, “Illegality Regimes,” 137–161.
6 Sciortino, “Between Phantoms and Necessary Evils,” 23.
7 It should be noted that the depiction of the national as the natural dimension of citizenship has been variously deconstructed in the European context (see for example Rigo, Europa di Confine; Isin and Nielsen, Acts of Citizenship). In parallel, the case of urban citizenship as determined by the hukou system in China is an exemplary illustration of how citizenship governance and its practices can be organized along lines which overlap the national affiliation (see for example Guo “Nationality, Hukou, and Ethnicity”; Woodman and Guo, “Introduction,” 737–754; Jakimów, “Understanding Citizenship,” 101–130; Zhang, “Governing Neoliberal Authoritarian Citizenship,” 855–881).
8 China and EU migration systems have been rarely compared. See Pries (ed), Shifting Boundaries; Kovacheva et al. “Comparing the Development of Free Movement,” 545–561; Pasquali, “Borders of Migration,” 223–242”. The possibility of comparing China’s internal borders with international borders has been also raised by Xiang, “Transcending Boundaries”; Wang, Organizing Through Division and Exclusion; and Zhao, 经济转型过程中的户籍制度改革 [Hukou System Reform During the Economic Transformation Process],” 17–21.
9 Wimmer and Glick Schiller have drawn attention to the “methodological nationalism” characterizing migration studies, as a pervading assumption within social sciences that the nation state is the natural social and political form of the modern world. See Wimmer and Glick Schiller “Methodological Nationalism and Beyond: Nation-State Building, Migration and the Social Sciences”. Current proposals of going beyond methodological nationalism, such as the endeavour towards a “methodological de-nationalism” (Anderson “New Directions in Migration Studies,” 1–36) or the focus on “the whole population” as the main unit of analysis (Dahinden “A Plea for the ‘De-Migranticization’,” 2207–2225) have not yet contemplated comparisons between internal and international migration systems.
10 中华人民共和国户口登记条例 (Instruction on the Establishment of a Household Registration System) 9 January 1958, National People’s Congress.
11 Chan, Cities with Invisible Walls; Solinger, Contesting Citizenship in Urban China; Wang, Organizing Through Division and Exclusion; Buckingham and Chan, “Is China Abolishing the Hukou System?,” 582–606.
12 Zhang and Wang, “Urban Citizenship of Rural Migrants,” 145–166.
13 关于进一步推进户 籍 制 度 改 革 的 意 见 (Opinion on Promoting the Advancement of the Reform of the Hukou System) 30 July 2014, State Council, Art. 3.
14 Ibid, Art. 9.
15 In addition, children who are non-local hukou holders are required to return to their permanent hukou location to take part in the college entrance examination. One of the most noteworthy privileges which hukou holders of cities such as Beijing and Shanghai retain over hukou holders of other localities is their precedence in college admissions to China’s top universities, mostly located in Beijing and Shanghai.
16 暂住证申领办法 (Methods to obtain temporary residence permit), 2 June 1995, State Council, Art. 3.
17 Ibid, footnote 13, Art. 3
18 中华人民共和国社会保险法 (Social Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China), 28 October 2010, Standing Committee of National People's Congress. However, statistics show that the implementation of this scheme remains patchy. Low numbers of subscribers are due to a host of reasons which range from rural migrants’ lack of a labour contract to local governments’ lack of financial capacities, to the lack of portability of such funds between jurisdictions for migrants. “Extending Social Protection to Rural Migrants,” ILO, September 2016. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/RessourcePDF.action;jsessionid=kVj12j2-7Lj7SgK9_ASq2m7knDpT0eEzOnws9ixLCNmC4upN9mH0!-165389065?id=53859
19 国务院关于建立统一的城乡居民基本养老保险制度的意见 (Decision on developing a unified pension system for all urban and rural residents), 21 April 2014, State Council.
20 Ibid, footnote 13, Art. 4.
21 关于促进劳动力和人才社会性流动体制机制改革的意见(Opinions on promoting the reform of the system and mechanism of social mobility of labour and talents), State Council, 25 December 2019, Art. 4
22 《2020年新型城镇化建设和城乡融合发展重点任务》的通知 (2020 Notification on the key tasks of the new model of urbanization construction and the development of urban-rural integration), National Development and Reform Commission, Doc. No.532, 4 April 2020, Art. 2
23 Ibid.
24 For example, to enroll for driving tests, obtaining a car license plate number, apply for a vocational qualification examination, register for child birth medical services, access children vaccination services, register children in school, register for rental or purchase of public housing.
25 In 2018, Beijing hukou was granted to 6,019 beneficiaries among over 124,000 qualified applicants for a Beijing hukou. “Beijing Starts Annual Hukou Registration,” Xinhua, 21 July 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/21/c_138245463.htm
26 Solinger, Contesting Citizenship in Urban China; Xiang, “A New Mobility Regime in the Making”; He, “Why Do They Not Comply with the Law?”; He, “Above the Roof, Beneath the Law”.
27 城市生活无着的流浪乞讨人员救助管理办法 (Regulations on Relief and Management of Vagrants and Beggars in Cities) 20 June 2003, State Council. The repeal of such measure followed the outcry of the Sun Zhigang case. Sun was a university graduate who had moved to Guangzhou for employment and, caught without a valid permit by the police, died while in detention.
28 Fu and Pasquali, “Legal Instrumentalism in China,” 261–280.
29 Wang, “Reformed Migration Control and New Targeted People,” 127.
30 Zhang, “Governing Neoliberal Authoritarian Citizenship,” 855–881.
31 Ibid, 872.
32 On 18 November 2017, 19 people died and 8 were injured in a fire in a migrant-built urban village outside Beijing. Following this accident, the Beijing municipal government began a one-month campaign of cleaning (zhengli) migrant informal settlements are with the reason of potential safety hazards. Through these measures, hundreds of thousands of migrants were coercively ejected from the capital suburbs.
33 Zhu and Qian, “New theoretical dialogues on migration in China”.
34 中华人民共和国国籍法(Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China), National People's Congress, 10 September 1980, Art. 4.
35 Ibid, Art. 5.
36 Ibid, Art. 8.
37 Ibid, Art. 7.
38 The 2010 five-yearly national census counted only 1,448 naturalised citizens in the whole of the country. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20110514214156/; http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722638.htm
39 外国人在中国永久居留审批管理办法 (Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence of Aliens in China) 15 August 2004, State Council.
40 外国人在中国永久居留享有相关待遇的办法的通知 (Notification on the Measures on the Relevant Benefits for Foreigners with Permanent Residence Permit in China), Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and other 25 departments, Doc. No. 53, 12 December 2012, Art. 8.
41 Ibid, Art. 9.
42 外国人在中国永久居留审批管理办法 (Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence of Aliens in China), State Council, 15 August 2004, Art. 7–8.
43 Ibid, Art.6
44 “China’s Plans to Ease Its ‘Green Card’ Rules for Foreigners Spark Racist Backlash Online” CNBC, 13 March 2020. Accessed May 15, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/china-permanent-residency-proposal-racist-backlash-spills-onto-twitter.html
45 国家移民管理局在全国范围内推广复制促进服务自贸区建设12条移民与出入境便利政策 (Twelve Measures of Immigration Policies to be applied nationwide to promote and reproduce the construction of free trade zones issued by The National Immigration Administration of the Ministry of Public Security), 1 August 2019, Art. 1–3.
46 Ibid, footnote 40, Art.6.
47 中华人民共和国出境入境管理法 (The Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China ) National People’s Congress, July 1, 2013.
48 关于全面实施外国人来华工作许可制度的通知 (Notice on Comprehensively Implementing the Work Permit System for Foreigners in China), State Bureau of Foreign Experts Affairs, Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, No. 40 [2017], 28 March 2017. See its annex.
49 在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法 (Provisional Measures on the Participation of Foreigners Employed in China in Social Insurance), Ministry of Human Resources and Public Security, 6 September 2011, Art. 5.
50 Pieke et al., How immigration is shaping Chinese society.
51 Implementation Plan for the Pilot Project on the “All-Purpose Card” Service for Foreign High-End Talents, Shenzhen Bureau of Human Resources, 12 October 2019.
52 Ibid, footnote 47, Art. 60.
53 Ibid, footnote 47, Art. 80.
54 Ahl and Liu 2018, “Recent Reform of the Chinese,” 215–243.
55 Zhu, China’s African Immigrants: Trapped by Status.
56 The Beijing office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) carries out refugee status determination on behalf of the Chinese government.
57 Ibid, footnote 47, Art.46.
58 Treaty of Maastricht, 29 July 1992, OJ C191, Art. 20.
59 Carrera, “What Does Free Movement Mean,” 700–701.
60 Balibar, “We, the People of Europe?,” 44.
61 Bigo, “Criminalisation of ‘Migrants’”; Huysmans, The Politics of Insecurity; Guild, Security and Migration; Mitsilegas, The Criminalisation of Migration in Europe.
62 In the following I shall focus on long-stays, which according to EU legislation consist in stays longer than three months.
63 Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, 30 April 2004, OJ L 166, and Regulation 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union Text, 27 April 2011, OJ L 141.
64 Directive 96/71 on the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, 16 December 1996, OJ L 18/1.
65 Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta in 2004, Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and Croatia in 2013.
66 Directive 2004/38 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, 30 April 2004 OJ L 158/77, Art. 6.
67 Ibid, Art. 24.
68 Ibid, Art. 14, comma 3.
69 Kramer, Thierry and van Hooren, “Responding to free movement,” 1501–1521.
70 CJEU Case C-86/12, Adzo Domenyo Alokpa and Others v Ministre du Travail, de l'Emploi et de l'Immigration, 10 October 2013.
71 Exception made for Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania and Slovakia.
72 Directive 2011/98 on a single application procedure for a single permit for third country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third country workers legally residing in a Member State, 13 December 2011, OJ L 343/1, Art.4, 6.
73 Directive 2003/109 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents, 25 November 2003, OJ L 16/44, Art. 4.
74 The threshold can range from a minimum of 300,000 Euros for Hungarian residency to a minimum of 2 billion Pound Sterling for British residency. See https://www.artoncapital.com/residency-by-investment/ 10 December 2019.
75 Regulation 265/2010 amending the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulation no. 562/2006 as regards movement of persons with a long-stay visa, 31 March 2010 OJ L 85, Art.1.
76 Directive 2004/58/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, 29 April 2004, OJ L 229/35, Art. 3 subsection 1.
77 Directive 2004/38 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, 30 April 2004 OJ L 158/77, Art. 16.
78 Directive 2003/86 on the right to family reunification, 2 September 2003, OJ L 251/12, Art.3.
79 Directive 2009/50 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment, 25 May 2009, OJ L 155/17, Art. 15,18–19.
80 Directive 2009/50 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment, 25 May 2009, OJ L 155/17, Art.14.
81 The implementation of this EU-wide scheme by Member States in its first years has been highly sporadic due to restrictive admission conditions and the presence of parallel national schemes (the directive is currently under review, see EU Commission’s Communication to the EU Parliament and the Council “Enhancing legal pathways to Europe: an indispensable part of a balanced and comprehensive migration policy” Brussels, 12 September 2018, COM(2018) n. 635.
82 Cerna “The EU Blue Card,” 73–96.
83 Colombo, Fuori controllo?, 353.
84 Ibid.
85 “Opening Europe's Doors to Unskilled and Low-Skilled Workers: A Practical Handbook,” IOM and EU Commission commissioned report by Bureau of European Policy Advisors (BEPA), 28 March 2011. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/9f6bf74f-59ed-4c86-83c7-f876b1006d13.0001.03/DOC_2
86 Directive 2014/36 on the conditions of entry and stay of third-country nationals for the purpose of employment as seasonal workers, 26 February 2014, OJ L 94/375.
87 European Migration Network. Migrant access to social security and healthcare.
88 See for example: Fassin, “Compassion and Repression,” 362–387; Cuttitta, “Delocalization, Humanitarianism and Human Rights,” 1–21.
89 Eurostat release. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10189082/3-25102019-AP-EN.pdf/95e08bc8-476d-1f7d-a519-300bdec438cb
90 Regulation 2013/604 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the Member States by a third country national or stateless person (recast), 26 June 2013, OJ L 180.
91 Directive 2013/33 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast), 26 June 2013, OJ L 180/60, Art. 17 (2).
92 Ibid, Art. 14.
93 Ibid, Art. 15.
94 Member States are characterised by very different levels of reception capacities and protection for asylum seekers as well as different acceptance rates of refugee status. For example, in 2014 Sweden accepted 76.6% of all asylum requests while Hungary granted refugee status only to 9.4% of the total percentage of its asylum seekers. Daily chart: Europe’s migrant acceptance rates, The Economist, September 1, 2015. Accessed December 10, 2019. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/09/daily-chart
95 Regulation 2007/2004 establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union, 26 October 2004, OJ L 349/1.
96 Bigo, “Reflections on Immigration Controls,” 300.
97 Directive 2008/115 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, 16 December 2008, OJ L 398/98.
98 Ibid, Art. 15.
99 Delvino, “The challenge of responding to irregular immigration”.
100 Ibid.
101 Wang, Organizing Through Division and Exclusion, 4.
102 Torpey, The Invention of Passport.
103 Ibid, 5.
104 Morris, Managing Migration, 7.
105 Zagato, Introduzione ai Diritti di Cittadinanza, 219.
106 Guo and Liang, “Differentiating Citizenship in Urban China,” 773.
107 The latest instance for it being the discriminatory treatment African migrants in Guangzhou denounced in April 2020 following a spike in imported COVID-19 cases in the city, which eventually triggered the local government to issue anti-discriminatory measures. Gyamfi Asiedu, “After Its Racism to Africans goes global”.
108 Tsoukala, “Looking at Migrants as Enemies,” 162.
109 Brown, Edgework, 42.
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Paola Pasquali
Paola Pasquali is a post-doctoral fellow at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, France. She holds a Bachelor and Masters’ degree in International Relations from the University of Bologna, Italy and a PhD from Birkbeck School of Law, University of London, UK.