Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration

Advanced industrialized economies are now widely using one of two competing models for selecting economic-stream immigrants: Points-based and employer-led selection.

Points-based systems, which admit immigrants who score high enough on a list of qualifications and experiences, appeal to policymakers because they are transparent, flexible, and can be adjusted to meet evolving economic needs or respond to evidence on immigrants’ integration outcomes. But since employers are not involved in selection, points systems often admit immigrants who are unable to find work at their skill level once they arrive. This undermines both integration and the long-term economic benefits of immigration.

Employer-driven systems, by contrast, allow employers to select the workers they need, subject to government regulations. Being selected by an employer is evidence that immigrants’ skills are needed and thus guarantees that they will have a job when they arrive. However, it also raises concerns that employers may manipulate the system in order to access cheaper labor, or that workers will be too dependent on their employers and hence vulnerable to exploitation.

In Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration (Download Rethinkingpointssystem[1]), Migration Policy Institute President Demetrios Papademetriou and Policy Analyst Madeleine Sumption examine hybrid selection systems, which combine the best ideas from both points-based and employer-driven models. The result, the authors find, are selection systems that have much of the flexibility of points systems while also prioritizing employer demand. As a result, some of the most successful immigrant-selection models rely on temporary-to-permanent visa pathways that admit workers initially on temporary work permits but provide a clear and predictable path to permanent residence to those with good integration prospects.

KJ