8.3C Barriers to migration

• • There are variations in the ability of people to migrate across national borders according to levels of skill and income; and opportunities, including the presence or absence of controls and international borders
  • Based on the idea of how attractive an immigrant is to a destination country
• Occupation shortages (P1):

  • New Zealand and Australia, for example, operates a points-based system which admits those immigrants that have the skill set that the country’s economy currently requires
  • Often the immigrant must also prove that they are able to support themselves financially for an initial period of time, until they have contributed enough to the country’s welfare system to receive support from it in times of need
• Sponsored migration (P1):

  • Other nations, for example the USA, have more stringent immigration policies and potential migrants have to qualify by gaining a green card in a lottery or prove that they have a job offer before they go
  • They also need to be sponsored by a US citizen or company, and be employed in a job that no other US citizen could reasonably undertake
  • Other countries limit travel opportunities for their population, for example North Korea and China
• Illegal migration:

  • Some countries have little or no control over their borders due to:
  • Long borders, particularly coastlines e.g. Greece has a lot of islands
  • Conflict which reduces central government control over its country
  • International conflict which motivates people to migrate, which can create an underground market for trafficking - Ukraine/Russia conflict