A transnational lens into international student experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic
Open accessAbstract
We analyse the experiences of international students living in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of transnationalism that understands mobility as broadly uninterrupted, continuing and taken-for-granted, and international student migration (ISM) literature. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to contend with sudden border closures and stringent restrictions on all forms of travel. International students are regarded as the archetypal trans-migrants with frequent mobility and often multiple attachments to place. We interrogate these assumptions of mobility by drawing on interview data from 13 international students in Ontario from April to June of 2020. We found that international students experienced the pandemic transnationally and faced increased challenges, which heightened their reliance on support from transnational families, and generated anxieties about their future career and mobilities. We bring transnational theories into conversation with ISM literature to better understand international students' lived experiences in Canada during a pandemic.
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International students are more vulnerable and at risk during unprecedented times.
“International students have also been mentioned as being more vulnerable and at risk during such unprecedented times (Firang, 2020; Hari et al., 2021; Kivelä et al., 2022; Mbous et al., 2022).”
From Social connections combat loneliness and promote wellbeing among college students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic (2025) · cites this paper as Hari et al., 2021
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- Authors
- Hari, A., Nardon, L., & Zhang, H.
- Affiliations
- Carleton University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Hari, Amrita
- Venue
- Global Networks
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-06-24
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 14-30
- ISSN
- 1470-2266 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-0374
- PMC
- PMC8444922
- OpenAlex
- W3176656333
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 6
- FWCI
- 28.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Global Networks (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › International Student and Expatriate Challenges
- Social Sciences › Demography › Diaspora, migration, transnational identity
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Higher Education Governance and Development
- Keywords
- international students, COVID-19 pandemic, transnationalism, international student mobility, mobility, transnational families, border closures, travel restrictions, career anxiety, lived experience, Ontario
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