Elite migration culture in contemporary Poland and China: the case of international student migrants in London

This study examines elite migration culture through a comparative analysis of Polish and Chinese international students in London. Drawing on qualitative, in-depth interviews, the research identifies three core dimensions of elite migration culture: family preparations and migration experience, early independence and migrant identity, and peer influence and competition. Polish students, embodying post-EU mobility capital, conceptualise migration as individualised self-development, frequently making autonomous decisions. In contrast, Chinese elites approach migration as a multigenerational endeavour rooted in Confucian familial obligations and state-oriented class reproduction. While both groups share elite status, their migration cultures exhibit marked divergence. Polish participants adopt fluid European identities, whereas Chinese students regard overseas education instrumentally as a means of temporary credential accumulation. The findings demonstrate how elite migration culture serves as a mechanism of social reproduction, with its expressions fundamentally shaped by regional ideologies, particularly the contrast between Western individualism and Eastern collectivism. This research challenges universalist assumptions about elite mobility, demonstrating how privilege is strategically deployed across distinct institutional and cultural contexts.