Immigration: An industry on the rise

International migration is a mighty force globally and is a key feature of our increasingly interconnected world. Though the phenomenon is not new, but the numbers and trends have been changing swiftly. The number of international migrants globally has continued to grow rapidly in recent years, reaching an estimated 272 million in 2019 (3.5 per cent of the world’s population), up from 248 million in 2015 and 220 million in 2010. People move across countries and continents for various motives. A major reason why skilled professionals and workers migrate is wage differences between the origin and destination countries.

Similarly, many students from developing economies migrate to advanced countries to study in their schools and universities.

While much of the debate centres on the role of immigration in slowing wage growth, the economic effects of immigration are quite clear. Immigration leads to more innovative and better educated workforce, greater occupational specialisation and higher overall economic productivity.

To get an expert opinion, we contacted Jyothi Kumari at WWICS, one of the leading global resettlement solution service providers offering full range of services in the area of skilled, student and business investment immigration for Canada, Australia, the USA, the UK, Europe, New Zealand and the Caribbean Islands since 1993. While explaining the significant impact of immigration, Kumari informed us, “Immigration brings big gains to recipient countries and provides an opportunity for a better life to immigrants.

“Higher incomes in emerging markets, access to welfare services and other social benefits that immigrants receive in developing economies are some of the major contributory factors behind this drift.

“There is no doubt about the fact that the world economy is facing tough times due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, immigration will play a pivotal role in supporting countries’ economic recovery since immigrants will do the lion’s share of the work to fill newly-created jobs and also support job creation through immigrant entrepreneurship.

“This is why it is a very opportune time for applicants who consider relocating to another country to start their application process”, Kumari added.