China’s education crackdown forces ‘anxious’ parents to rethink immigration, foreign-study options for kids

Parents in China are increasingly torn between the risks of moving overseas and ensuring a Western-equivalent education for their children

Companies that help people emigrate say business is booming, especially among China’s middle class

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A growing number of Chinese families are re-evaluating their emigration and foreign-study options in the wake of China’s crackdown on education. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Published: 6:00am, 18 Jan 2022

Amid the pandemic and geopolitical tensions with the West over the past two years, members of China’s middle class found themselves increasingly compelled to postpone plans to emigrate overseas, while others refrained from sending their children abroad to study.

But as a growing number of international schools in China have announced in recent months that they were shutting down or were accepting only foreign students in the wake of a nationwide crackdown on education, obtaining a Western-equivalent education at home has become more difficult.

As a result, a rising number of Chinese families are re-evaluating their emigration and foreign-study options.

Industry insiders also say there has been increased demand for Canadian immigration programmes, as well as for fast-track schemes to obtain foreign citizenship via investment opportunities in some small European countries and island nations.

Daisy Fu, who is based in Shenzhen and helps Chinese people obtain Malta citizenship, said business is up 20 per cent in the past two months. “Most of the clients are parents who are anxious about the new education policy,” she said.

Canada’s Immigrant Nominee Programme may also become a popular and practical solution for worried Chinese parents.

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