The COVID-19 Pandemic: Immigration Policy Changes and Challenges

Masud Chand ()
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Masud Chand: Wichita State University

Chapter 3 in The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business, 2023, pp 47-66 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic led to serve restrictions on travel and mobility, greatly reducing immigration levels. As immigration levels decreased, the global flow of talent was disrupted leading to skill shortages in critical areas. The reduction in immigration flows could lead to major challenges for organizations in attracting skilled immigrants who bring in much-needed talent. We examine how the pandemic led to changes in immigration policies across three of the most popular immigrant destinations—the US, Canada, and Australia, how these changes affected immigration, and the extent to which these changes are still in place. Given its critical nature as well as its high proportion of skilled immigrants, we study the healthcare sector in greater detail to further understand some of these issues. We find that long-term immigration levels declined markedly during the pandemic but are now close to their pre-pandemic levels, while short-term immigration levels are still recovering. All three countries see continuing worker shortages in critical sectors, pointing to the effect that policy changes had on the global war for talent. We look at steps that these countries are taking to address these challenges. We conclude by pointing out some key takeaways and directions for future research.

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Immigration Policy; US; Canada; Australia; Healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-38886-6_3

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