Press release -

ifo Researchers Support the Sale of Work Visas

The sale of temporary work visas could provide low-skilled economic migrants with a legal and secure route to Europe without undermining the welfare system. Panu Poutvaara, Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research, has worked up this proposal. “The idea behind these visas is to save lives and smash the business model of human trafficking in migrants’ countries of origin. Any excess income from the sale of temporary work visas could go towards supporting those countries,” he says.

“Migrants would be excluded from social benefits during their stay; they would have to pay for their own necessities and health insurance,” Poutvaara writes in a contribution for the ifo Schnelldienst. A bond deposited before entry could be used to finance the return journey or for reintegration into the home country. Accordingly, the bond should be refunded if the migrant returns to their country of origin before the visa expires. The bond could also be posted by companies that intend to hire the immigrant, by people from the immigrant’s personal network, or by family members.

Such a visa system for fixed-term contracts would also serve as a way to help cope with the refugee crisis. Offering a legal route to work in a given country would reduce the pressure on that country’s asylum application system. In addition, European countries could offer to allow legal immigration if the countries of origin agreed to help them deport illegal migrants. Each EU country would be entitled to decide for itself the details for issuing temporary work visas (quantity, period, price, bond, etc.). A visa would be valid only in the country in which it was issued. EU member states could also opt to cooperate, for instance to set up work visas that would be valid in several countries.

Publication

Article in Journal
Panu Poutvaara
ifo Institut, München, 2019
ifo Schnelldienst, 2019, 72, Nr. 23, 12-16
Contact
Prof. Panu Poutvaara Ph.D.

Prof. Panu Poutvaara Ph.D.

Director of the ifo Center for International Institutional Comparisons and Migration Research
Tel
+49(0)89/9224-1372
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+49(0)89/907795-1372
Mail
Harald Schultz

Harald Schultz

Press Officer
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+49(0)89/9224-1218
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+49(0)89/907795-1218
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