Diaspora and transnationalism have been known to be intertwiningly related. Compared to the transnational connectivity of the Vietnamese diaspora residing in the West, the ones conducted by those living in Thailand have not yet received sufficient attention. The study seeks to investigate the trans-border connections of Vietnamese-Thais from when they held refugee status to the present day when Thai citizenship was granted, and to analyze differences in transnational making between the second and third diaspora generations. In-depth interviews, participant observation and document research were utilized. The findings reveal that being labeled as a refugee limited the transnationality of the Vietnamese diaspora and distanced nationalism from their homeland. In contrast, possessing the host country’s citizenship facilitates community engagement in multiple trans-border ties with both their home country and other Vietnamese diaspora groups settling around the world. Unlike the second-generation parents, the third generation did not experience a far-distanced nationalism with their ancestral country. Contemporarily, the third generation enjoys transnationality like their second-generation parents, but in a more “trendy” way.
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