Migration statistics and the movement of natural persons

under GATS mode 4

Georges Lemaitre 15 September 2004

22 Outline of presentation

Background – migration concepts and international migration regimes across countries

What do the international migration statistics recommendations have to say about movements related to economic / business activities?

A framework for extended mode 4 or more ?

33 Migration concepts – permanent vs temporary

How does one define temporary? Intending to stay for a limited period Having a temporary residence permit Staying for a limited period

Duration of permit does not necessarily correspond to duration of migration

Intentions change Temporary migration often a gateway for

permanent Many « permanent » migrants return to their

countries of origin Do only « temporary » migrants remit?

44 Migration concepts – national vs foreign

There exist different concepts of nationality

Jus soli vs jus sanguinis Native-born foreigners, ethnic migrants

Conditions for acquisition of nationality differ greatly

Residency requirements vary from 3 to 15 years

Naturalisation a matter of choice or convenience and is subject to constraints

Do only foreigners remit?

55 International migration regimes (a)

Permanent-entry regimes Settlement system, generally with

programmed entries Right of permanent residence upon entry Easy access to nationality / citizenship Also have temporary regimes covering

entertainers, seasonals, students, trainees, exchange visitors, intra-group transfers, etc. – includes mode 4 movements

But => passageways from temporary to permanent

Characteristic of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States

66 International migration regimes (b)

Example of a permanent-entry regime (United States) Permanent permit = green card All temporary entries (including

tourists and H1Bs) grouped together in statistics as « non-immigrants » => Some 40+ different « temporary » permits

But half of green cards in recent years have gone to persons with temporary permits (i.e. non-immigrants)

77 International migration regimes (c)

Temporary-entry regimes All entries are under temporary permits

Two kinds of temporary permits:– Renewable with rights accumulating over time

– Family reunification– Longer-term permits – Eventual permanent permit or permanency with

acquisition of nationality– Non-renewable or renewable with limits

(entertainers, seasonals, students, trainees, exchange visitors, intra-group transfers, etc.) – includes mode 4 movements

Acquisition of citizenship / nationality more difficult

Characteristic of most European countries, Japan, Korea

88 International migration regimes (d)

Example of a temporary-entry regime (France)

Permanent-type migration => entries with permits of one year or more excluding students

Residence card (ten-year) obtainable after five years continuous residence

Right of permanent residence comes with naturalisation

Temporary migration => (seasonals and other short-term workers, trainees, students)

Limited number (3 or 4) of permits covering many diverse situations

Also « free » movement of persons from European Economic Area

99 Identifying the relevant population movements

Given the nature of migration and migration permits, can one define a time-limit for temporary migration?

If the receiving country defines what it considers to be temporary, will the data be comparable?

Are foreign workers an appropriate target population?

Can one be sure of the correspondence between temporary migrants and remitters?

1010 International migration statistics (a)

UN Recommendations (1998) No explicit mention of mode 4 under

taxonomy of international inflows But the taxonomy refers to:

– Movements of « migrant » foreigners for the explicit purpose of exercising an economic activity remunerated from within the receiving country

– Movements of « non-migrant » foreigners admitted for short stays for business or professional activities not remunerated from within the country (« Visitors  from abroad»)

1111 International migration statistics (b)

Visitors from abroad include in particular: Foreign business travellers: Foreign persons on

short visits related to business or professional activities not remunerated from within the country of arrival, whose length of stay is restricted and cannot surpass 12 months.

No explicit mention of nature of business or professional activities but presumably could include prospecting for sales, contract supply of services, installation or repair of proprietary equipment, etc.

1212 International migration statistics (c)

Duration criteria Non-migrant inflows => none overall but

some for various groups – Business travelers => < 12 months

Migrant inflows– Short term => three to twelve months – Long-term =>

– One year or more but limited– Unlimited

Nature of duration left open Intended stay, actual stay, permit duration

1313 Mode 4 and international migration statistics

GATS Mode 4 a legal concept Moving target => still evolving as a

result of national commitments Combines movements that in

international migration statistics are kept separate– Non-migrants : employees of offshore

enterprises moving to provide services to a) arms-length clients or b) affiliates

– Migrant workers : seconded ICTs, United States H1Bs

- but that are not necessarily distinguished in national permit systems

1414Example: Persons holding an « autorisation provisoire de

travail » (APT)

Temporary work permits (< 1 year) delivered, France 1999

Students 10253Artists 10187Various (?) 3809Interns and doctors 1926Seconded managers 1823Trainees 1870Teaching researchers 1752Installers 644Assigned to residence 100Adolescents < 16 244Animateurs 179

32787

Source: Haut conseil à l'intégration, Groupe permanent chargé des statistiques;Rapport pour l'année 2000. Excludes citizens of EEA countries.

1515 Conclusion

Extended mode 4? « Temporariness » concept, restriction

to foreigners problematical A framework for cross-border

movements of all persons (both « permanent » and « temporary »)–That respects standard classifications

and definitions, to the extent possible –With ability to re-aggregate to

produce statistics according to GATS Mode 4 or other needs