Promoting Smart Migration From Hong Kong to the United Kingdom

Knowledge Production, Digital Platforms and Transnational Networks of Educators and Agents in the Property Sector

Bibliographic Data

ID23310909
AuthorsYvette To (0000-0003-2846-2752, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume26
Issue4
Publication date2026-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Networks (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-2266 • E-ISSN: 1471-0374
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/glob.70069
OpenAlexW7171976108
LanguageEN
References cited32

This study uses the concept of ‘smart migration’ to capture the strategies advocated by intermediaries who advise middle‐class family migrants on how best to migrate. Smart migration reflects a risk‐mitigating logic and is facilitated by both new and traditional intermediaries, who now use digital technologies to expand their services. The study analyses two types of intermediaries in the property sector—informal property‐market educators and formal transnational property agents—who facilitate the migration of Hong Kong families to the United Kingdom. The data are collected through participant observation at webinars and property fairs and in interviews with intermediaries and migrants. The study contributes to the theorisation of migration brokerage by showing how, under a low‐threshold visa regime, the work of mediation shifts from securing admission to brokering solutions to livelihood challenges. This brokerage is increasingly performed by person‐centred, platform‐based intermediaries who not only capitalise on but also co‐produce migrants’ aspirations and capabilities.

Intellectual property · Intermediary · Livelihood · Mediation · Participant observation · Property (philosophy) · Work (physics) · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies

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