International student mobility and highly skilled migration: a comparative study of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Against the backdrop of demographic change and economic reconfiguration, recruiting international students, especially those at tertiary level, has drawn growing attention from advanced economies as part of a broad strategy to manage highly skilled migration. This comparative study focuses on three English speaking countries receiving international students: Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. International student policies, in particular entry and immigration regulations, and the trends in student mobility since the late 1990s are examined drawing on secondary data. By exploring the issue from the political economy perspectives, this study identifies distinct national strategies for managing student mobility, determines key factors shaping the environment of student migration in each nation, and addresses the deficiency of human capital theory in the analysis of global competition for high skills.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-132) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

International Students Pathways Between Open and Closed Borders: Towards a Multi‐scalar Approach to Educational Mobility and Labour Market Outcomes

“…The vast majority of non‐European mobile students struggle with visa issues and lack of opportunities to gain valuable post‐study experience in the UK. She and Wotherspoon, (: 11) argued that this relatively high level of openness and control in managing international student mobility combined with the strategy to recruit international students, in particular from non‐EEA countries, is not well integrated into the UK's skilled immigration plan compared with other top receiving countries such as Australia, Canada and Japan, which might be seen as countries with a clear study to residence pathway. Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany are characterised by a more staggered and significantly more uncertain journey to permanent residency (Robertson, ; Liu‐Farrer, ).…”

Studying to Stay: Understanding Graduate Visa Policy Content and Context in the United States and Australia

“…While some scholars have attempted to articulate the importance of student visa policies (Tremblay, ; Gribble, ; She and Wotherspoon, ), few offer systematic analyses of the content of the policies or the context under which these policies emerged and evolved (Robertson, ). This article attempts to address the lack of policy analysis and comparison within the literature.…”

From migrant student to migrant employee: Three models of the school‐to‐work transition of mainland Chinese in Hong Kong

“…The global trend of student migration has led to extensive academic discussion, mainly focusing on students' motives and channels of migration, their acculturation in host societies and the effects of student migration on source and host societies (Bahna, ; Carlson, ; Collins, ; Collins, Ho, Ishikawa, & Ma, ; Fong, ; Waters, ). Recent research (Hawthorne, ; Kim, ; Li, ; Robertson, ; She & Wotherspoon, ; Yu, ) has shown that completing their studies does not mean the end of their migratory journey in the host society. In the context of global competition for skilled workers and talent, international students are considered potential skilled workers and are allowed to seek employment after graduation and even to explore settlement opportunities in many host societies (Hawthorne, ; Mosneaga & Winther, ).…”

“…Some scholars (Arthur & Flynn, ; Hawthorne, ; Kim, ; Moskal, ; Robertson, ) have examined how immigration policies and structural factors in host countries shape the opportunities and obstacles inherent in migrant students' transition to skilled employees. Others (Li, ; Mosneaga & Winther, ; She & Wotherspoon, ; Yu, ) have focused on migrant students' individual decisions and agency in seeking employment after graduation.…”