Gaining foreign working experience is a dream for most Chinese migrant women who came to Ireland to study. However, this dream is not easy to fulfill due to the work visa restrictions facing non-EU workers, as Ying states: Ying: My dream was to complete my study within 4 years’ time then work for two years and gain some experiences. Then I planned to go back to China. My dream didn’t come true after ten years’ study in Ireland. I spent two years to improve my English and I spend 8 years to finish my undergraduate study and Master degree. But I can’t find work now. It is difficult to find work because we are non-EU citizens. I need to apply for a work permit to get a full-time job. Mirroring the findings of King-O’Riain (2008), the women in this study also feel they are losing out in competition with other migrants because they are structurally disadvantaged. This in turn hinders their adaptation to the host culture, as they struggle to access the opportunities which are available to the migrants from other EU countries who are not bound by similar visa restrictions. The fact that the power to effect change in their area resides at government level means that individual migrants have very limited ability to address this issue. Finally, one of the women in the study, Elle, already quoted above, presents an interesting case. She arrived in Ireland on a student visa, then overstayed her visa and became an undocumented migrant for two years. Following this, she gave birth to a child in Ireland in 2004, which secured her long-term residency status and entitlement to social welfare. Throughout her time in Ireland she has worked in casual employment in a Chinese restaurant, moving from legal, to illegal, and back to legal status once again. In her case, she explained that, with long-term residency she can work part-time while still claiming social welfare. This means that life is now much easier than if she were undocumented or on a more restricted visa, and stated that she could not survive and manage as well were she a single parent in China.
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