The papers show that Asian marriage migrants’ experience of integration and assimilation are complex, nuanced, and heterogeneous across migrants’ sociodemographic backgrounds, ethnic profiles, and political contexts. The heterogeneities in Asian marriage migrants’ assimilation trajectories challenge the classic assimilation theory which assumes an unilinear integration trajectory in all relevant aspects. This issue diversifies the academic discourses on migration and marriage by going beyond marriage migration to include how other types of migration shape family formation processes including divorce and remarriage. It also examines the mechanisms underlying the migration-marriage link. Finally, this special issue widens methodological repertoires in the field of marriage and migration by using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method analyses to divulge the complexity of the relationships.
From ARI workshop on ‘Migration and Marriage in Asia’ on 26-27 July 2016.
