Migration statistics and the movement of natural persons under GATS mode 4

1. Migration statistics and the movement of natural persons under GATS mode 4 Georges Lemaitre 15 September 2004

2. 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 ?

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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?

10. 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»)

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. Example: Persons holding an « autorisation provisoire de travail » (APT)

15. 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