Over the past two decades, the global flow of Chinese student migration has changed significantly. Overseas Chinese students are torn between the desire to return to China and a fear of returning. Based on a study of employability among Chinese students who arrived in France in the 2000s, the study adopts a sociological perspective of risk in analysing student mobility. The findings show that risk and uncertainty shape the migration process for Chinese students. Overseas Chinese students are engaged in an individualisation process in which they are vulnerable to social change, and they must address risk in different areas of life upon graduation. Thus, many students find achieving a traditional ideal of success difficult, and they must postpone their return to China.