Advanced Digital Technologies and Migration Decisions

This project investigates how advanced digital technologies (ADTs), especially social media and online forums, shape migration decisions for Asian international students and highly skilled permanent residents, in particular from India, Nepal, and the Philippines. It examines how they use these platforms to find and verify information about study and work options, immigration pathways and paperwork, and settling in Canada. The project explores how the trustworthiness of online information (including misinformation) and individual characteristics like social networks, language skills, and digital literacy shape one’s decisions. Findings will inform evidence-based practices for reliable and culturally responsive information for international students and permanent residents of Asian background.

1. How do international students and permanent residents from India, Nepal and the Philippines find and use migration related information and how do digital tools shape the choices they make?
2. At each stage of the migration journey (planning, applying, arriving, settling), which platforms (e.g., WhatsApp, Facebook groups, YouTube) matter most, and what makes them influential?
3. If and how do information needs and trusted channels differ by migrant group and by country of origin?

Qualitative interviews with international students (60 total—20 each from Nepali, Indian, and Filipino groups) and permanent residents (60 total—20 each from Nepali, Indian, and Filipino groups). The TMU team conducts interviews with international students, while the UofT team focuses on interviews with permanent residents.

The project also includes interviews to educational consultants based in Nepal, India, and the Philippines.

• Complex Migration Flows and Multiple Drivers in Comparative Perspective (MEMO)

This project is ongoing with fieldwork nearly complete and analysis is now beginning.

Expected completion: December 2026

Publications:

Niraula, Ashika. 2025. “Canada’s immigration process is increasingly digitized, but that can make if difficult to navigate” The Conversation, March 9. https://theconversation.com/canadas-immigration-process-is-increasingly-digitized-but-that-can-make-if-difficult-to-navigate-249381 (external link) 

Past events and presentations:

• “Rethinking migration with information systems: Governance, work, and decision-making”, panel presentation by Ashika Niraula with Pedro Seguel, Mireille Paquet, Mylène Coderre, Émilie Baril, and Stein Monteiro, AMCIS 2025, Montreal, Canada, August 2025

• “Citizenship experiences of South Asian and Chinese women”, presented by Usha George, 25th Annual Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations Conference, Cyprus, July 11–14, 2025
• “Complex mobilities within and from Asia: Shifting flows, drivers, and experiences”, panel co-organized by Ashika Niraula (Chair) and Usha George (Discussant), AAS-in-Asia Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal, June 1–4, 2025

• “Adaptation amidst precarity: Nepali migrant workers in India”, presented by Sagar Raj Sharma and Chandana Sharma, AAS-in-Asia Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal, June 1–4, 2025

• “Rohingya refugees in India: Analysing the lack and necessity of refugee policies in India”, presented by Pratiti Roy, AAS-in-Asia Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal, June 1–4, 2025

• “Nepali immigrants in Canada: Complex pathways and experiences”, presented by Richa Shivakoti and Deepa Nagari, AAS-in-Asia Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal, June 1–4, 2025

• “Intergenerational negotiations in Chinese immigrant families: The role of welfare policies across borders”, presented by Yu Huang, AAS-in-Asia Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal, June 1–4, 2025

ADTs; advanced digital technologies; migration decision; temporary migrant; temporary migration