TY - JOUR
T1 - Europe as unlikely immigrant destination
T2 - location choice for internationally mobile students in India
AU - Hercog, Metka
AU - van de Laar, Mindel
N1 - Funding Information:
The data for this study were collected during two field visits to India. Data collection took place in March and April 2009 among students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Institute of Technology – Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), and University of Jammu. In August 2009, the data were collected at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore. All chosen institutions have reputations for providing high-quality education, as either recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or graded by The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) under the ‘A category’ denoting ‘High level of academic accomplishment as expected from an institution’ (NAAC 2007). All survey participants were Indian students studying science and/or engineering at the selected institutions. In total, 412 students participated in the survey, answering sets of questions on their personal situations, preferences to move abroad and social networks.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - This paper examines how country-specific factors in receiving countries influence a highly skilled migrant’s choice between several possible locations. While continental European countries recognize that attracting migrants is a key component of their economic strategies, it is unclear to what extent these immigration policies result in European countries performing better in the global competition for the skilled. Surveys of prospective migrants in India show that while European countries appear to be relatively attractive for educational purposes, European countries are not perceived as favourably for long-term stays. Relative to migrants selecting traditional immigration countries, migrants selecting Europe as a destination typically have more skills and increased access to resources, such as existing networks abroad, higher educational level or better language skills. With fewer long-term migration initiatives to Europe, immigration policies and destination country-specific factors, opportunities to obtain citizenship and amenities of local environment become less relevant. European governments put considerable effort in integrating student migration as a part of a wider immigration strategy; however, this strategy is likely to prove ineffective if ‘probationary migrants’ do not view European countries as realistic work destinations after graduation.
AB - This paper examines how country-specific factors in receiving countries influence a highly skilled migrant’s choice between several possible locations. While continental European countries recognize that attracting migrants is a key component of their economic strategies, it is unclear to what extent these immigration policies result in European countries performing better in the global competition for the skilled. Surveys of prospective migrants in India show that while European countries appear to be relatively attractive for educational purposes, European countries are not perceived as favourably for long-term stays. Relative to migrants selecting traditional immigration countries, migrants selecting Europe as a destination typically have more skills and increased access to resources, such as existing networks abroad, higher educational level or better language skills. With fewer long-term migration initiatives to Europe, immigration policies and destination country-specific factors, opportunities to obtain citizenship and amenities of local environment become less relevant. European governments put considerable effort in integrating student migration as a part of a wider immigration strategy; however, this strategy is likely to prove ineffective if ‘probationary migrants’ do not view European countries as realistic work destinations after graduation.
KW - highly skilled migrants
KW - India
KW - International migration
KW - location choices
KW - student migration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050136579&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/21568235.2016.1231581
DO - 10.1080/21568235.2016.1231581
M3 - Article
SN - 2156-8235
VL - 6
SP - 356
EP - 371
JO - European Journal of Higher Education
JF - European Journal of Higher Education
IS - 4
ER -