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The defining issue of our time?

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http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Migration_and_migrant_population_statistics

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What is migration? How do we define migrants?

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What is migration? How do we define migrants?

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http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/migrant/

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How many international migrants are there?

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How many international migrants are there?

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232 million - the same size as the country of Indonesia - the 4th largest country on earth

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2. Relationship between development and migration

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2. Relationship between development and migration

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The relationship between migration and development and the possible role of policy

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The relationship between migration and development and the possible role of policy

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http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/primers/migration-and-development/

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https://blog.riamoneytransfer.com/role-of-remittances-in-shaping-the-economy/

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Remittances are a mainstay for millions of the world's poor – let's improve them

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Remittances are a mainstay for millions of the world's poor – let's improve them

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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jun/16/remittances-mainstay-millions-worlds-poor-improve-them-dipti-pardeshi

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https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2017/sep/25/universities-must-do-more-to-stop-the-graduate-brain-drain

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The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants leaving a country every year. When the number of immigrants is larger than the number of emigrants, a positive net migration rate occurs.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ky7sn

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https://fullfact.org/immigration/why-do-international-migrants-come-uk/

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Surge in Poles leaving UK since Brexit vote fuels immigration drop

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Surge in Poles leaving UK since Brexit vote fuels immigration drop

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/25/surge-in-poles-leaving-uk-since-brexit-vote-fuels-net-migration-drop

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Emigration nation: who are the thousands fleeing Britain each year?

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Emigration nation: who are the thousands fleeing Britain each year?

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11620356/Emigration-nation-who-are-the-thousands-fleeing-Britain-each-year.html

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What effect do you think Brexit will have on the UK's net migration?

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What effect do you think Brexit will have on the UK's net migration?

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Can classic models of development help us to understand migration?

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Model-Based Approaches to Estimating Migration Flows

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Model-Based Approaches to Estimating Migration Flows

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https://www.nap.edu/read/13498/chapter/8

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http://www.lucify.com/the-flow-towards-europe/

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v13kTeAHY4c&feature=youtu.be]

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The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained

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The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvOnXh3NN9w

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6. How can global migration be a driver for stability, growth and development

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6. How can global migration be a driver for stability, growth and development

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Phones – crucial to survival for refugees on the perilous route to Europe 

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Phones – crucial to survival for refugees on the perilous route to Europe 

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http://www.open.edu/openlearn/people-politics-law/politics-policy-people/phones-crucial-survival-refugees-on-the-perilous-route-europe

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The map Syrian refugees use to get to Europe

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The map Syrian refugees use to get to Europe

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03v0lb8

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https://www.oecd.org/migration/OECD%20Migration%20Policy%20Debates%20Numero%202.pdf

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgjwtyc

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Foreigners as a percentage of total population in EU countries

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Foreigners as a percentage of total population in EU countries

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What has determined the size of these migrations?

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What has determined the size of these migrations?

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1. Schengen Agreement - freedom of movement

2. Recent EU expansion - increased number of migrants

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVP0RRvl2WE&feature=youtu.be&list=PLD80EB68F4CF646AE

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The Brexit effect: The fall in EU migration spells trouble for the UK

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The Brexit effect: The fall in EU migration spells trouble for the UK

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http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/05/brexit-effect-fall-eu-migration-spells-trouble-uk

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8. Conflicts, inequalities and injustices

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8. Conflicts, inequalities and injustices

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VR tour: In the footsteps of a Rohingya refugee

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VR tour: In the footsteps of a Rohingya refugee

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VR tour: In the footsteps of a Rohingya refugee

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Follow the Rohingya on their arduous escape from massacres at hands of Myanmar army to refugee camps in Bangladesh.

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Annual Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) Population Estimates for England and Wales: Mid-2016 published by Office of National Statistics.

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Emigration- Pakistan
Immigration- Canada

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UK hits visa cap on skilled workers for third month in row

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UK hits visa cap on skilled workers for third month in row

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Britain has hit its cap on visas for skilled non-European workers for an unprecedented third month in a row, deepening the staffing crisis facing the NHS and other key employers.

When the monthly quota was reached in December and January for the first time in seven years immigration lawyers had expected it would prove to be a blip, but they now fear it is turning into a long-term problem.

More than a third of the tier-2 work visas issued by the Home Office go to medical and other staff recruited to work in the NHS. Migration experts expect that among the first group to be turned away will be doctors and other healthcare staff, software developers and scientists.

The next set of quarterly immigration figures will be published on Thursday. They are expected to show increasing evidence of a " Brexodus " over the past year, with an accelerating decline in the numbers of EU nationals coming to work in Britain while increasing numbers return home.

The Home Office sent out hundreds of emails to UK employers and businesses last week telling them that their applications for the certificates of sponsorship required to recruit mostly highly skilled workers from outside the EU had been refused because they did not meet the minimum points score set for the February quota.

The cap on skilled worker numbers operates on an annual quota of 20,700 with a fixed number of spaces available each month. Until last December the monthly quota had only been exceeded in one month since the cap was introduced by Theresa May as home secretary in 2011.

The Home Office confirmed that the minimum salary for a job to qualify for a skilled work visa was normally £30,000, or £20,800 for a graduate recruit. However, in December it was set at £55,000 and in January tier-2 visa applications for jobs paying less than £46,000 a year were refused unless they were PhD-level roles or were for jobs on the official shortage occupation lists.

The points-based immigration system prioritises applicants according to their advertised salary, with the minimum annual pay changing according to the number of applicants above the quota and their points rating. This hits the NHS particularly hard.

The UK has fewer doctors and nurses than many other comparable countries both in Europe and worldwide. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Britain comes 24th in a league table of 34 member countries in terms of the number of doctors per capita. Greece, Austria and Norway have the most; the three countries with the fewest are Turkey, Chile and Mexico. Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, regularly points out that the NHS in England has more doctors and nurses than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010. That is true, although there are now fewer district nurses, mental health nurses and other types of health professionals.

NHS unions and health thinktanks point out that rises in NHS staff's workloads have outstripped the increases in overall staff numbers. Hospital bosses say understaffing is now their number one problem, even ahead of lack of money and pressure to meet exacting NHS-wide performance targets. Hunt has recently acknowledged that, and Health Education England, the NHS's staffing and training agency, last month published a workforce strategy intended to tackle the problem.
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Nichola Carter, an immigration specialist at Carter Thomas solicitors, said: "From the information I'm receiving it is starting to look like the threshold for rejection in February could be around the £50k mark. Initially it was thought that December and January were just blips. Now it's starting to feel like this could be a long-term issue."

She said employers were increasingly seeking to sponsor skilled workers because they needed certainty in their recruitment plans.

"The government has to step in now and either change the points or the criteria or create exemptions. Calls for NHS workers to be removed have already been made."

Carter added that she had seen two applications refused for clients last week: a software developer and a designer for a bespoke luxury goods manufacturer.

All jobs offered to skilled workers from outside the EU that are not on the official shortage occupation lists have to be advertised in Britain first for a set period unless the salary will be at least £159,600.

"I know of employers who are now willing to pay £65,000 for a job they were previously offering a salary of £35,000 for just to make sure they get a visa in the next round of allocations," Carter added.

The immigration law firm Fragomen confirmed that the cap had been reached for the third time. "Since the quota has been exceeded three times consecutively it is highly likely to be exceeded again next month due to the volume of reapplications. Applicants can reapply next month provided the job advertisement is still valid. There is no right of appeal following refusal."

Danny Mortimer, the chief executive of NHS Employers, has pressed the Home Office to exempt medical staff from the quota, saying NHS organisations were "increasingly concerned at their inability to obtain permits for essential medical colleagues".

A Home Office spokesperson said: "It is important that our immigration system works in the national interest, ensuring that employers look first to the UK resident labour market before recruiting from overseas.

"The tier 2 visa route is intended to fill gaps in the labour market. When demand exceeds the month's allocation of tier 2 (general) visas, priority is given to applicants filling a shortage or PhD-level occupations.

"The published shortage lists include a range of medical professionals, including consultants specialising in clinical radiology and emergency medicine, and we estimate that around a third of all tier 2 places go to the NHS."
Topics

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UK hits visa cap on skilled workers for third month in row

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Britain has hit its cap on visas for skilled non-European workers for an unprecedented third month in a row, deepening the staffing crisis facing the NHS and other key employers. When the monthly quota was reached in December and January for the first time in seven years immigration lawyers had expected it would prove to be a blip, but they now fear it is turning into a long-term problem.

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Migrant workers in the UK, many in low-paid jobs, are sending £8bn a year to support families in their home countries, says a report from the United Nations' education agency.

This is often used to help relations in poorer countries to stay in school.

But Unesco warns too much of this "hard-earned money" is being taken in transfer charges by finance companies.

It says that people wiring money should only have to pay 3% in charges - but the global average is 7%.

The Association of UK Payment Institutions says prices would be lower if regulators allowed more companies to compete in this market.

The remittances sent home by migrants can be a lifeline for families in poorer countries - sent back by people working in wealthier parts of the world.

'Skimming off'

Such cash has become an informal and often unseen subsidy for educating families in less affluent countries.

The UK is in the top 10 countries for overseas workers sending back money - with billions of pounds sent to the three biggest recipients - Nigeria, India and Pakistan.

Hundreds of millions are sent to Poland, China, Kenya, Philippines, Bangladesh and Ghana each year.

From the US, remittances have been particularly important to countries in Central America and South America.

But Unesco, in its annual report on education, says too much is being taken in fees by finance firms.

"Companies should not be allowed to continue skimming off so much of the money that migrants are sending back home," says Manos Antoninis, director of the Global Education Monitoring report.

"Such transaction costs are highest for the poorest migrants."

Getting fees down to 3% across the world would save migrant families $25bn (£20bn) per year - which the UN's education estimates would lead to an extra $1bn being spent on education.

Boosting education spending

Although the average commission is 7% - the UN says many charges can be much higher, with some costs for sending money to Africa rising about 20%.

Unesco's report shows the dependency on remittances and the positive impact of the extra cash.

In 18 countries across Africa and Asia, remittances increased education spending by 35% - and in Latin America by over 50%.

In India, rural families receiving remittances spent 17% more on education than neighbours who did not have such cash being sent back by relations.

In the Philippines, this extra income from overseas was seen as a way of reducing child labour, allowing children to remain in education.

Keeping children in school

In Ecuador, money from remittances has become important to keeping girls enrolled in school.

There has been growing recognition of the scale of remittances in a globalised economy.

As well as migrant workers in low-paid jobs, there are also well-qualified, professional workers who go to wealthy countries and then send money home to help with others in their family wanting to study.

The £8bn sent back from migrant workers in the UK compares with about £13bn, which a House of Commons library report said was the UK government's total overseas aid.

According to the Pew research group in the US, more than £500bn per year is sent worldwide in remittances.

Such payments are a "vital resource in the countries where migrants have come from," says Unesco's Mr Antoninis.

"These migrants have left everything, often following a dream. They then send their hard-earned money back home to support those they left behind, only to find they are charged extortionate fees for the service."

A spokesman for the Association of UK Payment Institutions says fees might appear "unnecessarily high" - but it reflected the high levels of regulation and restrictions in a market which mostly handled cash, rather than electronic transfers.

He also said that even if some firms appeared to have low charges, there could be other costs added through the exchange rate.

A spokeswoman for Western Union said they believed that about 30% of transfers were intended for education.

She said that her firm's overall average fee for moving money was between 4% and 6% - and that reflected the cost of a service that could immediately transfer cash around the globe.

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Migrant workers send home £8bn to families

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Migrant workers in the UK, many in low-paid jobs, are sending £8bn a year to support families in their home countries, says a report from the United Nations' education agency. This is often used to help relations in poorer countries to stay in school.

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Migration and Borders in Times of Crisis Presenta

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Migration and Borders in Times of Crisis Presenta

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Migration and Borders in Times of Crisis