Problematising ‘visa determinism’: Contested and multifaceted migratory identities among student visa holders in Australia

Sociology of migration scholarship has recently criticised the unreflective use of categorisation in migration research and practice. This article extends this critique by reflecting on ‘visa determinism’ – a heuristic that uses the visa status as a proxy for inferring people's identities, intentions and experiences. Drawing on the case of Brazilians who hold student visas in Australia, we explore and problematise visa determinism in two main ways. First, we demonstrate how migrants engage in othering to contest and repurpose the visa-determined ‘international student’ category. Second, we illustrate how intentions and migratory identities are multifaceted, and how contradictions between visa status and de facto experiences are a product of restrictive migration policies. Ultimately, this article aims to raise awareness of visa determinism as a heuristic that permeates different domains of migration. It argues that its uncontested use can legitimise the policing of migrants’ intentions and the production of migrant illegality.