{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T05:38:58Z","timestamp":1787895538602,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":69,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,10]],"date-time":"2024-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1720569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Sociol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Migration is generally considered to be a driver of enhancing the subjective well-being of immigrants; however, personal characteristics such as educational attainment, migration channel, and country of origin may moderate the impact of immigrant life on expected well-being. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the intersections between the lived experiences of post-secondary Indian immigrant students in the United Kingdom (UK), the challenges they encounter as immigrants, and how these experiences could impact their subjective well-being. A qualitative research design was employed, which included a focus group discussion and 24 in-depth interviews with postgraduate students who had migrated from India to the United Kingdom. Four themes generated from the thematic analysis, which overall indicated that individuals who came to the United Kingdom as international students to study, work, and settle over time often found themselves unable to leverage their educational credentials to establish expected subjective well-being. This was primarily due to the systematic denial of their agency (capability) to overcome challenges in the host society. Reasons include becoming involuntarily immobile in the host country, incongruency between past expectations and present experiences and prospects, socio-emotional and financial costs associated with immigrant life that hinder the freedom of agency, and bureaucratic burdens. All these reasons can generate an unconducive environment for those immigrants who took part in the study, ultimately decreasing their life satisfaction and positive feelings while increasing negative feelings. In conclusion, the findings question the widely held belief that migration can increase subjective well-being and describe how migration comes at a cost, along with several other challenges, particularly for those who have moved first to learn, secondly to earn, and then to settle in. The channel of migration (migration for education and then to settle in) thus plays a crucial role in determining the outcomes of migration while influencing the anticipated subjective well-being of migrants.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1385664","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,10]],"date-time":"2024-07-10T02:01:49Z","timestamp":1720576909000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Challenges in navigating the education-migration pathways, and subjective well-being of highly educated immigrants: the case of Indian student immigrants in the United Kingdom"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Samitha","family":"Udayanga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1007\/s40471-017-0111-2","article-title":"Immigration and mental health","volume":"4","author":"Alegr\u00eda","year":"2016","journal-title":"Curr. Epidemiol. Rep."},{"key":"ref2","article-title":"Cultural integration of immigrants in Europe","volume-title":"Cultural Integration of Immigrants in Europe","author":"Algan","year":"2013"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1007\/s11205-013-0492-7","article-title":"The subjective well-being of immigrants: pre-and post-migration","volume":"119","author":"Amit","year":"2014","journal-title":"Soc. Indic. Res."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1080072","article-title":"Navigating cultural transitions during resettlement: the case of unaccompanied refugee minors","volume":"14","author":"Andersson","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.1590265","article-title":"Economic migration and happiness: comparing immigrants\u2019 and natives\u2019 happiness gains from income","volume":"1","author":"Bartram","year":"2012","journal-title":"SSRN Electron. J."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"156","DOI":"10.1093\/migration\/mnt006","article-title":"Happiness and \u201ceconomic migration\u201d: a comparison of eastern European migrants and stayers","volume":"1","author":"Bartram","year":"2013","journal-title":"Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-10-0750-7","article-title":"Cultural capital and acculturation in migrants","volume-title":"Mental health, mental illness and migration","author":"Bhugra","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref8","author":"Bolton","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"579","DOI":"10.1093\/jrs\/feaa043","article-title":"Linking migration aspirations to integration prospects: the experience of Syrian refugees in Sweden","volume":"34","author":"Borselli","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Refug. Stud."},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Distinction: A social Critque of the judgement of taste","author":"Bourdieu","year":"2002"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa","article-title":"Using thematic analysis in psychology","volume":"3","author":"Braun","year":"2006","journal-title":"Qual. Res. Psychol."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fhumd.2021.688487","article-title":"Why are newcomers so happy? Subjective well-being of first-generation immigrants in Germany","volume":"3","author":"Brockmann","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Dyn."},{"key":"ref1002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.32674\/jcihe.v13i5.4061","article-title":"\u2018Edugration\u2019 as a Wicked Problem: Higher Education and Three-Step Immigration","volume":"13","author":"Brunner","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Comp. Inter. High. Edu."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1080\/0963823031000103489","article-title":"Savoring beliefs inventory (SBI): a scale for measuring beliefs about savouring","volume":"12","author":"Bryant","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Ment. Health"},{"key":"ref14","volume-title":"Social research methods","author":"Bryman","year":"2008"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"945","DOI":"10.1080\/1369183X.2017.1384146","article-title":"Revisiting aspiration and ability in international migration","volume":"44","author":"Carling","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Ethn. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bodyim.2022.07.007","article-title":"South Asian women in the United Kingdom: the role of skin colour dissatisfaction in acculturation experiences and body dissatisfaction","volume":"42","author":"Chan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Body Image"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"383","DOI":"10.1108\/17506201211272805","article-title":"Diasporas, migration, and trade: the Indian diaspora in North America","volume":"6","author":"Chand","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Enterprising Communities"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.1012796","article-title":"Predicting happiness levels of European immigrants and natives: an application of artificial neural network and ordinal logistic regression","volume":"13","author":"Chen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2022.1040558","article-title":"Migrations and culture. Essential reflections on wandering human beings","volume":"7","author":"Contini","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Sociol."},{"key":"ref20","author":"Crossman","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref21","first-page":"1","article-title":"Two-step immigration selection: a review of benefits and potential challenges","volume":"111","author":"Crossman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Econ. Insights"},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"The foundations of social research","author":"Crotty","year":"1998"},{"key":"ref23","author":"Daru","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1186\/s40878-020-00210-4","article-title":"A theory of migration: the aspirations-capabilities framework","volume":"9","author":"de Haas","year":"2021","journal-title":"Comp. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"681","DOI":"10.1007\/s10902-010-9223-9","article-title":"The 3P model: a general theory of subjective well-being","volume":"12","author":"Durayappah","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Happiness Stud."},{"key":"ref26","author":"Duttagupta","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref27","author":"Ellis-Petersen","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"642","DOI":"10.1177\/0038038510369363","article-title":"Migrating cultural capital: Bourdieu in migration studies","volume":"44","author":"Erel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sociology"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1111\/manc.12356","article-title":"The impact of Brexit on international students\u2019 return intentions","volume":"89","author":"Falkingham","year":"2021","journal-title":"Manch Sch"},{"key":"ref30","first-page":"9","article-title":"Aspirations and happiness of potential latin american immigrants","volume":"2","author":"Graham","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Soc. Res. Policy"},{"key":"ref31","first-page":"1421","article-title":"The two-step Australian immigration policy and its impact on immigrant employment outcomes","volume-title":"Handbook of the Economics of International Migration","author":"Gregory","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"641","DOI":"10.1007\/s12134-023-01026-8","article-title":"Opportunities and cracks in Canada\u2019s two-step migration model during the pandemic: lessons from Chinese migrant experiences","volume":"24","author":"Hari","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Int. Migr. Integr."},{"key":"ref33","volume-title":"World happiness report 2018","author":"Helliwell","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1093\/migration\/mnu053","article-title":"The happiness of international migrants: a review of research findings","volume":"3","author":"Hendriks","year":"2015","journal-title":"Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1080\/15562948.2018.1458169","article-title":"Bringing happiness into the study of migration and its consequences: what, why, and how?","volume":"17","author":"Hendriks","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Immigr. Refug. Stud."},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"749","DOI":"10.1007\/s12134-016-0499-4","article-title":"Motivations and constraints of moving abroad for Indian students","volume":"18","author":"Hercog","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Int. Migr. Integr."},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.25318\/36280001202400200004-eng","article-title":"The improvement in the labour market outcomes of recent immigrants since the mid-2010s","volume":"4","author":"Hou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Econ. Soc. Rep."},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.958517","article-title":"The mental health of Asian American adolescents and young adults amid the rise of anti-Asian racism","volume":"10","author":"Huynh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2019.00044","article-title":"Pathways to permanence: legal status transitions as a key mechanism in skilled migrant selection and settlement","volume":"4","author":"Jacobs","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front. Sociol."},{"key":"ref40","volume-title":"Thinking, fast and slow","author":"Kahneman","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref41","first-page":"302","article-title":"Well-being: foundations of hedonic psychology","volume-title":"Hedonic adaptation","author":"Kahneman","year":"1998"},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"560","DOI":"10.32674\/jis.v9i2.673","article-title":"Challenges of international students from pre-departure to post-study: a literature review","volume":"9","author":"Khanal","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Int. Stud."},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"176","DOI":"10.1080\/14767724.2017.1405244","article-title":"International student migration: a comparison of UK and Indian students\u2019 motivations for studying abroad","volume":"16","author":"King","year":"2018","journal-title":"Glob. Soc. Educ."},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ssresearch.2016.01.010","article-title":"Life satisfaction, ethnicity and neighbourhoods: is there an effect of neighbourhood ethnic composition on life satisfaction?","volume":"60","author":"Knies","year":"2016","journal-title":"Soc. Sci. Res."},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s40176-016-0052-4","article-title":"(why) are immigrants unhappy?","volume":"5","author":"K\u00f3cz\u00e1n","year":"2016","journal-title":"IZA J. Migr."},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1186\/s40878-022-00313-0","article-title":"Should they stay or should they go? A case study on international students in Germany","volume":"10","author":"Krannich","year":"2022","journal-title":"Comp. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref47","first-page":"438","volume-title":"Naturalistic inquiry","author":"Lincoln","year":"1985"},{"key":"ref48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1016\/j.econedurev.2007.11.003","article-title":"The over-education of UK immigrants and minority ethnic groups: evidence from the labour force survey","volume":"28","author":"Lindley","year":"2009","journal-title":"Econ. Educ. Rev."},{"key":"ref49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"454","DOI":"10.1093\/jrs\/fen043","article-title":"Involuntary immobility: on a theoretical invisibility in forced migration studies","volume":"21","author":"Lubkemann","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Refug. Stud."},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jdeveco.2007.05.001","article-title":"Brain waste? Educated immigrants in the US labor market","volume":"87","author":"Mattoo","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Dev. Econ."},{"key":"ref51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"453","DOI":"10.1080\/01612840701344464","article-title":"The influence of culture on immigrant women\u2019s mental health care experiences from the perspectives of health care providers","volume":"28","author":"O\u2019Mahony","year":"2007","journal-title":"Issues Ment. Health Nurs."},{"key":"ref52","volume-title":"International migration outlook 2023","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref53","volume-title":"Indicators of immigrant integration 2023: Settling","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref54","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1007\/s11233-021-09078-0","article-title":"Chinese and Indian higher education students go abroad: listening to them to determine what their needs are","volume":"27","author":"Perez-Encinas","year":"2021","journal-title":"Tert. Educ. Manag."},{"key":"ref56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1093\/esr\/jcp013","article-title":"Immigrants\u2019 life satisfaction in europe: between assimilation and discrimination","volume":"26","author":"Safi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Eur. Sociol. Rev."},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1893","DOI":"10.1007\/s11135-017-0574-8","article-title":"Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization","volume":"52","author":"Saunders","year":"2018","journal-title":"Qual. Quant."},{"key":"ref58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1007\/s12134-023-01043-7","article-title":"The education-immigration Nexus: situating Canadian higher education as institutions of immigrant recruitment","volume":"24","author":"Schinnerl","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Int. Migr. Integr."},{"key":"ref59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4887","DOI":"10.1080\/1369183X.2023.2235905","article-title":"Navigating bureaucratic violence in Canada\u2019s two-step immigration system","volume":"49","author":"Schmidt","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Ethn. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"845","DOI":"10.1016\/j.oneear.2022.07.010","article-title":"A two-way street: immigrants\u2019 mental health challenges, resilience, and contributions","volume":"5","author":"Shea","year":"2022","journal-title":"One Earth"},{"key":"ref61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.5153\/sro.4070","article-title":"Ethnicity and (dis)advantage: exchanging cultural capital in UK international education and graduate employment","volume":"21","author":"Sin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sociol. Res. Online"},{"key":"ref62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"650","DOI":"10.1177\/0267323119886167","article-title":"Media and immobility: the affective and symbolic immobility of forced migrants","volume":"34","author":"Smets","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur. J. Commun."},{"key":"ref63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"713","DOI":"10.1177\/0894439316683344","article-title":"Effective sampling from social media sites and search Engines for web Surveys: demographic and data quality differences in surveys of Google and Facebook users","volume":"35","author":"Stern","year":"2017","journal-title":"Soc. Sci. Comput. Rev."},{"key":"ref64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.4038\/ucr.v4i1.121","article-title":"Social networking and subjective well-being among Sri Lankan youth immigrants in South Korea","volume":"4","author":"Udayanga","year":"2023","journal-title":"Univ. Colombo Rev."},{"key":"ref65","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1186\/s40878-023-00329-0","article-title":"The student migration transition: an empirical investigation into the nexus between development and international student migration","volume":"11","author":"Weber","year":"2023","journal-title":"Comp. Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref66","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"670","DOI":"10.1093\/migration\/mnac034","article-title":"Why do immigrants become less happy? Explanations for the decrease in life satisfaction of immigrants in Germany over time","volume":"10","author":"Yaman","year":"2022","journal-title":"Migr. Stud."},{"key":"ref67","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"314","DOI":"10.1111\/imig.13062","article-title":"Pursuit of happiness: subjective well-being of immigrants and natives","volume":"61","author":"Zafar","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. Migr."},{"key":"ref68","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-92377-8_25","article-title":"Qualitative methods in migration research","volume-title":"Introduction to migration studies","author":"Zapata-Barrero","year":"2022"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Sociology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1385664\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,10]],"date-time":"2024-07-10T02:02:01Z","timestamp":1720576921000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1385664\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,10]]},"references-count":69,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1385664"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1385664","relation":{},"ISSN":["2297-7775"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2297-7775","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,10]]},"article-number":"1385664"}}