Migrants and their parents: Elder mobility, care and floating child–parent relationships

The post-2019 migration wave has triggered a new population landscape in Hong Kong. As revealed by surveys and statistics, a majority of new emigrants to the UK are working adults with small and teenage children. Some families also brought with them elderly parents. In other popular destinations such as Canada and Australia, migrants are younger adults who go for study or a professional career. A number of Hong Kong media and social organisations have been featuring news reports and social surveys about the “left-behind” elderly parents of recent migrants. Such reports are stuffed with a sentimental tone stressing how elderly parents are left lonely and surviving on their own. Our research finds that the impacts of emigration on the elderlies are more complex than this. We seek to challenge the single stereotypical discourse that links old people with immobility, stasis and loneliness. The post-2019 migration wave does have impacts on various aspects of family life. With cases of Hong Kong migrants emigrating to both Asian and western countries, we examine how children's migration has impacted the life and mobility of and care arrangement for the elderly parents. © 2025 Taylor & Francis.