The following is part of a series of blog posts on the future of the global workplace.
By Gareth Jarman, Director,
It’s a tumultuous time for immigration law as nations strive to achieve economic dominance while dealing with concerns about government spending, terrorism and social cohesion.
As businesses increasingly compete globally for the best and brightest workers, some governments are pushing back to make sure locals don’t get left by the wayside. In addition, European Union countries have had to react to mass migrations from Syria and other oppressed countries, creating quick, sometimes confusing changes to their immigration policies.
Many countries are tightening their laws, while others — particularly those facing a decline in working-age population — are liberalizing them. It’s important to stay on the right side of these changing laws: penalties for breaking them range from “snap audits” by the authorities to fines, imprisonment and loss of the right to sponsor future employees.
Here’s a look inside the immigration kaleidoscope in 2015.
The U.S.
In the US, as elsewhere, liberalizing immigration laws is a political hot potato. Yet the country has always been known as a nation of immigrants, and studies have shown that an increase in patents accompanies an increase in immigrant college graduates. More than 40% of Fortune 500 companies were started by immigrants, as were 24% of engineering and
The Obama administration proposed sweeping changes to immigration laws last fall, and though the most controversial, which calls for delaying deportation of illegal immigrants, faces steep challenges, other provisions designed to help businesses stand a better chance of becoming law. They include:
- Allowing the spouses of H-1B temporary employees (often engineers hired by high-tech companies) to work
- Clarifying laws about job changes for temporary workers awaiting visas
- Clarifying laws about immigrants with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities
- For foreign students, expanding programs that qualify as STEM fields, allowing more of them to work in the country after obtaining degrees
- Allowing more inventors, researchers and entrepreneurs to obtain temporary work permits
- Updating regulations to PERM labor certifications, used by businesses to sponsor workers for permanent residence
Canada
Canada was once known for welcoming immigrants with open arms, but has become much stricter in recent years, causing some to complain that reforms make it harder for skilled workers to remain in the country.
The Investor Immigrant Program and the
The UK
In the wake of a severe recession, the UK has tightened its business immigration laws. Starting in April 2016, migrant workers will need to earn at least £35,000 to qualify for settlement in the UK. Otherwise they will face deportation.
Hiring foreign workers at the expense of UK citizens is a big concern. "In the past it has been frankly too easy for some businesses to bring in workers from overseas rather than … train our workforce here at home,” Prime Minister David Cameron said recently.
A government advisory committee is considering restricting work visas, limiting the length of time for which business sectors can claim a skills shortage, and taxing businesses that recruit foreign workers (the money will go towards creating apprenticeships in the UK).
In addition, a new rule that went into effect in April requires workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who plan to stay for over six months to pay a health surcharge of £150 a year.
Continental Europe
In the EU, as waves of immigrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and other countries flood in, the Schengen Rule may be threatened. This law allows citizens of 26 European countries (but not the entire EU, as is commonly believed) to travel without passports or other immigration controls at their borders with one another.
However, a Shengen member may reinstate border controls — usually temporarily — in the face of “a serious threat to public policy or internal security.” Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 asylum applications this year, recently did just that at its border with Austria, reversing its earlier policy and calling on other Euro nations to help share the burden of absorbing immigrants.
But of course, immigration is not all a burden.
With the new wave of refugees, “[E]verybody from small shopkeepers to private equity find ways to profit from the migrant flood,” the Wall Street Journal reports, citing among other examples a London private equity firm which through its holdings is invested in managing refugee camps, a profitable business with low margins but high volume. Other businesses have their eyes set on attracting the new immigrants, many of whom were skilled workers in their country of origin.
South America and Taiwan
Not all countries are tightening their immigration laws.
Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador have liberalized theirs to attract workers from Asia and Africa. Portugal has created a controversial "golden visa" for rich immigrants. Taiwan, which faces an aging population and a smaller workforce, is also widening its doors.
Immigration law is based on economic and political trends that can change overnight, and in the face of a perceived crisis, governments act to amend them quickly. Before sending workers to another country, be sure to check with one of our experts to gain an accurate and timely assessment.