More countries are seeing the benefits of international students

Skilled migrants and talented students are in demand across the world — and governments are stepping up their efforts to attract them, even as immigration becomes a more contentious issue.
A new report on international migration released by the OECD shows a growing number of countries introducing new visa pathways for tech and start-up workers. Competition for overseas students, too, is heating up.
But the research shows that countries can’t always divorce their approach to high-skilled migration from their stance on migration more generally.
More countries are seeing the benefits of international students
OECD countries are opening their doors to international students in growing numbers — but wider immigration policy can have a knock-on effect.
Almost all OECD countries saw increases in the number of student visas issued from 2015 to 2016, including growth of 28% in Canada, 17% in Korea and 10% in the UK.
The major exception to the trend is the United States. The number of student visas granted in the US has declined by nearly 40% between 2015 and 2017.
Part of that, according to Jean-Christophe Dumont, head of the OECD’s international migration division, is because of a recent change to how often Chinese students need to renew their visas. That makes a precise comparison with other countries difficult. “But it’s clearly a decline,” he said, “whereas for most other countries there has been an increase.”
That’s a sign of how, even if governments see less politically contentious immigrants like students as a separate group to asylum seekers and those with fewer skills, potential migrants don’t always agree, Dumont said.
General attitudes to immigration are highly relevant to workers and students shopping between countries, Dumont suggested.
“They may have several opportunities and think about several countries,” Dumont said. “At the high end, it’s not about whether the door is open or closed — it’s fairly open everywhere. It’s more a question of how welcoming the house is.”