Social Integration of Chinese 1.5 and Second Generations in Portugal

Chinese migration has expanded around the world, strengthening the transnational relations and networks between China and different nations worldwide. Within the South European context, Chinese immigration to Portugal has been growing consistently since 1990s. In 2014, the Chinese community was already the fifth most important ethnic group in the country. One question that has been emerging in this immigration context is the social integration of the Chinese community (both of first immigrants and their descendants) within the Portuguese society. Several authors had stressed that the level of social integration of first immigrants and their children is different within the host state. Immigrants’ descendants tend to have a different socialization from their progenitors, particularly in what concerns to values and lifestyles, mastering of the language, social attachment and relationships, sociability within peers groups, and educational and professional integration in the residence country. The aim of this paper is to analyze the social integration of Chinese descendants settled in Portugal, focusing in some specific domains: family, peer groups, school education, and work. Particular attention will be given to the type of social relationships established by 1.5 (those born in China) and second generations (those born in Portugal) in each of these domains both within their ethnic (Chinese) and non-ethnic (Portuguese) residential communities. Quantitative (Census 2011) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) data will be used in the analysis, as to understand which factors intervene on the social integration and life paths of each of these groups of Chinese descendants.