04/11/2013
Immigration options for highly skilled migrants
US
The principal channel of highly skilled migration to the US is the H-1B visa. The visa is job-led and subject to an annual quota. The quota has been maintained at 65,000 since 2003. Foreign students graduating from a university in the US may apply to use the optional practical training (OPT) scheme, which can be attached to their student visa. If used, the OPT permits a foreign graduate to work in the US for up to a year.
Foreign nationals wanting to apply for US citizenship must first obtain a permanent resident card, also known as a green card. A migrant must have held green card status for a minimum of five years before they can apply for naturalisation. Although there is no minimum residence requirement for obtaining a green card, foreign nationals often find that their applications take years due to the complex and protracted nature of the process.
CANADA
Today skilled workers under the points-based system can be eligible for Canadian permanent residence. Although the scheme is not necessarily job-led, criteria related to a migrant’s occupation are at its core. Canadian immigration officials consider a migrant’s education, training, current and past employment, skills and experience to assess their suitability. Points are also awarded for language skills (English and/or French), age, and adaptability, which includes previous work or study in Canada, arranged employment, relatives residing in Canada, and a partner’s education.
Under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, foreign students who have graduated from a Canadian university can apply for a non-job-led work permit within 90 days of graduation. The programme, which was subject to an expansion in April, now allows graduates to remain for up to three years.
The Canadian Experience Class will cater for certain temporary foreign workers and foreign student graduates with managerial, professional, technical or trade work experience, allowing them to apply to become permanent residents and eventually Canadian citizens. All applicants, depending on their occupational skill level, will be required to demonstrate either basic or moderate language skills.
As a general rule, a foreign national wishing to naturalise as a Canadian national must have lived in Canada for at least three years out of the four years preceding their application, and must have been settled in Canada for at least two years.
AUSTRALIA
Australia’s points-based system offers both a sponsored and an independent route to permanent status. The points required are earned through qualifications, work experience, age and English language skills. This route is not available to migrants who are over 45 years of age.
Graduates who have completed their study in Australia and wish to remain in the country to work are expected to apply for a general skilled migrant worker’s visa under the points-based system. For those who do not qualify at the outset, Australia offers a graduate (temporary) visa that allows students to remain in Australia for 18 months to gain experience and/or improve their English language skills with a view to meeting the 120-point pass-mark to qualify for a general skilled migrant worker’s visa.
Recently, Australia has streamlined its process so that student visa recipients are automatically granted permission to work up to 20 hours a week during term time without having to apply separately.
Foreign nationals who wish to naturalise and who became permanent residents on or after 1 July 2007 must have lived lawfully in Australia for at least four years before their application for naturalisation.
SINGAPORE
Singapore has liberalised its immigration policies, making it easier for skilled migrants to gain permanent residency.
Until recently, foreign workers needed to be sponsored by an employer before they could obtain the right to work in Singapore. Now, however, in its bid to become the world’s ‘talent capital’, Singapore has thrown open its doors to highly skilled migrants via the personalised employment pass (PEP) scheme. Unlike the normal employment pass, the PEP is not employer-specific and is granted on the strength of the migrant’s own merit. Under this scheme, migrants are allowed to remain and work in Singapore for five years. During these five years a PEP-holder must earn an annual fixed salary of at least S$30,000 (£12,500) and cannot remain unemployed for more than six months. To qualify under the scheme migrant workers must show that their last-drawn fixed monthly salary was of a minimum of S$7,000 (£2,900) and that they are former holders of normal employment passes.
Singapore does not operate a system designed to allow graduating students to work. Foreign graduates are required to obtain employment passes if they wish to remain in Singapore.
EUROPEAN CHALLENGERS
Ireland
In February 2007 Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment launched the implementation of new employment permit arrangements. The Working Visa/Work Authorisation Programme, which was the earlier Irish attempt at attracting highly skilled migrants, was replaced by a green card permit scheme.
The green card is instrumental in responding to the Irish labour market’s needs efficiently, in that it provides employment authorisation to highly skilled workers in occupations where there are skill shortages.
There are two categories of green card permit: one for positions in any industry or occupation with annual salaries of at least €60,000 (£47,400), and one for positions in designated shortage industries and occupations with annual salaries between €30,000 and €59,999 (£23,700-£47,400).
No labour market test is required, but an applicant must have a job offer of at least two years from a registered Irish employer, and must provide evidence that they meet the position’s requirements.
Either the employer or the foreign national can apply for the green card. The permit is issued for an initial period of two years, after which the foreign national may apply for renewal or permanent residency.
As a general rule, foreign nationals wishing to apply for Irish citizenship must have accrued a minimum of five years’ reckonable residence, with a minimum of 12 months’ continuous reckonable residence immediately before the application.
The new Irish green card scheme is likely to attract skilled migrants who do not meet the UK’s maintenance requirements, thereby placing Ireland ahead in the competition for talent in Europe.
To attract educated migrants, Ireland operates a scheme that permits foreign students with a primary, masters or doctorate degree from an Irish university to remain for a period of up to six months in order to seek employment and apply for a green card or a work permit.
Netherlands
The Netherlands also offers a route to highly skilled migrants, which makes it a serious contender, at least in Europe, if not the rest of the world./p>
The Dutch test for assessing a highly skilled migrant is based on previous earnings. To qualify under the scheme an applicant is required to earn an annual salary of at least €47,565 (£37,600) if they are over 30 years old. If the applicant is under 30, the required annual salary is €34,881 (£27,600). Migrants who have recently graduated in the Netherlands will qualify as long as they can show a prospective salary of at least €25,000 (£19,800).
Newly graduated migrants will also usually be given three months to find a role offering a salary that allows them access to the highly skilled migrant programme.
As a general rule, to qualify for Dutch citizenship foreign nationals must have lived in the Netherlands for at least five years continuously. They are required to demonstrate that they have integrated into Dutch society, which includes understanding of the Dutch language. To demonstrate their language skills, foreign nationals are required to undergo a naturalisation test.
On naturalisation, the Dutch authorities expect an applicant to renounce their previous citizenship, unless the foreign national is prohibited by the country of initial citizenship. Although the Netherlands’ system is intended to attract and retain skilled migrants, the Dutch language requirement is likely to be seen by many as an insurmountable obstacle to settling.
WHO IS WINNING THE RACE?
With their objective and transparent points-based systems, Australia and Canada appear to have solved the quest for the best and the brightest.
In Europe, Ireland and the Netherlands seem at present to be the only countries offering viable and flexible routes to highly skilled migrants.
In its effort to win the war for talent, the EU has proposed a blue-card programme as a Europe-wide solution. However, the concept has met strong opposition as arguably an EU-wide immigration system is unlikely to be able to regulate the heterogenous labour-market relations in the various member states.
At this stage, it would appear that the blue card is destined to fail and member states wishing to attract foreign talent would be well advised to devise their own traps for highly skilled migrants.
