Strategies to manage international migration

Monitoring and managing the rate of population change in a country is a key issue for any government

Voluntary migrants bring positive and negative benefits to a country:

• Positive – boost falling populations and declining economic growth

• Negative – illegal immigration and fear of migrants taking jobs and housing in the host country

Many governments try to manage migration to meet the country's changing demographic and economic needs

Governments can either encourage or discourage natural growth and immigration depending on the circumstances

• When a country's economy is struggling, immigration rules often become harder

• Whereas economic booms lead to immigration rules being easier to encourage workers to come to the country

Successful management of migration needs to:

• maximise the positive benefits of migration to both the host country and country of origin

• prevent illegal migration through border controls

• promote legal migration channels

In areas where people have freedom of movement they can live and work in other countries with few restrictions

The European Union (EU) has the Schengen area

• People who are citizens in any of the 29 countries in the area can work, live or study in any of the other 28 countries

Tightening Border Controls

• Aims to reduce illegal immigration

• Examples:

  • Physical barriers like the US-Mexico border wall

  • Electronic surveillance and increased border patrols

Points-based immigration system

• Allows entry to countries based on skills and qualifications

  Examples:

  • The UK’s post-Brexit points-based system prioritizes high-skilled workers

  • Australia's system awards points based on skills, experience and qualifications

Work visa schemes

• Provides legal pathways for temporary or seasonal work

• Examples:

  • EU’s Blue Card for highly qualified workers

  • UK’s seasonal worker visas for agriculture

Bilateral and multilateral agreements

• Involves cooperation between countries to manage migration flows

• Examples:

  • EU-Türkiye deal (2016) to reduce migration into Europe

  • Repatriation agreements between countries

Providing aid to origin countries

• Migration is often the result of challenging conditions in the origin countries

• Aid aims to tackle root causes like poverty or conflict.

• Examples:

  • Development aid to improve living standards

  • Support for education and job creation in origin countries

Reducing migration of skilled workers

• The loss of skilled workers is an issue in many countries

• It impacts on the economy and development

• Examples:

  • Retention incentives for skilled professionals such as increased salaries

  • Restrictions on migration for those who have trained in careers such as medicine

Integration schemes

• These schemes aim to help migrants settle by supporting them to learn the language and understand customs, traditions and ways of life of the destination country

• Examples:

  • Language and cultural orientation courses

  • Anti-discrimination laws and access to education and healthcare

  • Support finding work and childcare

The effectiveness of the management strategies is varied

Freedom of movement has both advantages and disadvantages

• Countries can more easily fill job vacancies

• Lower paid jobs may be filled by people moving from countries with lower average incomes

• Boosts tourism which aids the economies of the countries

• Political tensions may increase:

  • One of the reasons people gave for voting in favour of Brexit (the exit of the UK from the EU) was an end to freedom of movement

Tightening border controls

• Can be effective in controlling numbers

• Expensive and controversial—may not address root causes of migration

Points-based immigration systems

• Helps fill skill shortages

• May exclude low-skilled migrants who are still needed in some sectors

Work visa schemes

• Provides legal alternatives to irregular (illegal) migration

• Limited duration—migrants may overstay

Bilateral and multilateral agreements

• Can reduce tensions between countries and clearly identify the responsibilities of each country

• Depends on trust between countries to follow the agreement

Providing aid to origin countries

• Long-term solution to reduce 'push factors'

• Outcomes depend on stability in recipient countries

As with all strategies, integration schemes have had varied levels of success

• In some areas they have improved understanding and acceptance between migrants and the local communities

• The cost of integration strategies is high

• Local communities may argue the money could be used to support them instead of migrants