From public to commercial service : State-market hybridisation in the UK visa and immigration permit infrastructure, 1997–2021

Nehring, Daniel and Hu, Yang (2021) From public to commercial service : State-market hybridisation in the UK visa and immigration permit infrastructure, 1997–2021. British Journal of Sociology, 72 (5). pp. 1325-1346. ISSN 0007-1315

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Abstract

This article charts the transformation, between 1997 and 2021, of the family visa and immigration permit infrastructure from a public into a commercial service in the United Kingdom (UK). In doing so, it reveals a process of state-market hybridisation underpinning the commercialisation of migration regulation. Drawing on the analysis of legal archives, policy reports and marketing materials directed at family migrants spanning 1997–2021, it presents fresh, systematic evidence of how, since 2007, a commercialised state-market hybrid migration infrastructure for visas and immigration permits has developed in the UK. We show how the trend of state-market hybridised commercialisation has cascaded through three dimensions of migration infrastructure: (1) state and public immigration agencies, (2) outsourcing visa application firms, and (3) private immigration advisers. Predicated on this hybrid public-private commercial infrastructure, application procedures for visas and immigration permits have become increasingly reconstituted as commercial, rather than public, services. This transformation has created a new transactional logic that stratifies individuals’ right to family life along socio-economic lines.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
British Journal of Sociology
Additional Information:
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Nehring, D., & Hu, Y. (2021). From public to commercial service: State-market hybridization in the UK visa and immigration permit infrastructure, 1997–2021. The British Journal of Sociology, 72, 1325– 1346. doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12891 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12891. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3312
Subjects:
?? commercializationhybridizationmarketmigration infrastructurestatevisasociology and political science ??
ID Code:
158774
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
23 Aug 2021 14:25
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
12 Feb 2024 00:42