Countries Use of Points-Based Immigration System

Governments the World over are grappling with how to make Immigration work for their Economies without fanning Political flames.

Nativism helped crystalize Support for Brexit in the UK and almost cost German Chancellor Angela Merkel a Fourth Term. President Trump says U.S. Immigration system is Broken, but there is little Common Ground on how to fix it.

For Inspiration and Fears on possible Fixes, Americans might look at:

Canada - Uses a Points-based system to screen Economics Migrants, a Group that makes up almost 60% of its Immigrants. The Method, which Factors in Criteria such as: Education, and Work Experience. This is why 27% of Canadians regard Immigration as a Burden on the Country, the Lowest Percentage among the 18 Nations Surveyed in a Pew Research Center Poll released in march 2019.

Japan - Pro-Immigration Consensus is Absent in Japan, where Migrants make up Less than 2% of the Population. There, the Government is treading Cautiously as it rolls out a Five-Year Residency Permit designed to alleviate Critical Shortages of Workers in several Industries.

Latin America - Its Policy Response to the Venezuelan Exodus has been Hasty and Improvised, and Threatens to give rise to an Underclass of Undocumented Workers.

The following Details How Three Countries are Dealing with Immigration:

Canada

The Country welcomed 321,040 Immigrants last year, the Largest number since 1913. Almost 60% were Economic Migrants chosen for their Potential to put down Roots in a Land where Winter temperatures routinely drop below Freezing.

Canada wasn't always Selective about who it took in. After a couple of Decades of Unchecked Immigrants from Postwar Europe, concerns began to build that New Arrivals weren't Contributing to the Economy. In 1967 the Government introduced a Point System that Graded aspiring Residents on such Criteria such as: Age, Language Proficiency, and Skills. The Framework has Endured, though Rules have been Amended many times to reflect Changing Priorities.

Like many Developed Economies, Canada faces the prospect of Low Fertility Rates and Retiring Baby Boomers. If Immigration were to Stop entirely, the Labor Force could Lose 100,000 Workers a year starting in 2026, according to the Conference Board of Canada. Already, more than 580,000 Jobs in the $1.7 Trillion Economy are Unfilled.

After consulting Employers, the Government revamped the Point System in 2015, adding an Expedited Path called Express Entry. Candidates fill out a Short Online Questionnaire that Determines whether they Meet Minimum Requirements. If so, they Complete a Detailed Profile that generates a Score used to Rank the Applicant Pool. Every Two weeks or so, the Government Discloses how many People in the Pool will Receive an Invitation to Apply for Residency. Invitees have 60 days to Submit Supporting Documents. Their files get Processes in about Six months.

Last year, 17% of the Invited Candidates Worked as: Software Engineers, IT Analysis, or Programmers. Almost Half were from India, with the next Largest Groups coming from China and Nigeria. Prior to the Introduction of the Point system, those Admitted were Overwhelmingly White.

But the Method isn't Perfect. Stories abound of Doctors and Engineers whose Credentials aren't Recognized by the Country's Professional Associations are Unable to follow their Professions. Quebec Province, Home to a Fifth of the Population, runs its Own Selection Process and recently Reduced Immigration Targets. But some Rural areas are having a Hard Time luring People.

Canada's approach is widely seen as a role model for successful migration management, according to The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Australia and New Zealand have Points-Based Systems of their own. Legislation Co-Sponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Purdue (R-GA) plan to introduce one in the U.S.

Colombia

The Country which shares a 1,400 mile Boarder with Venezuela, has been hit hardest by Venezuela Refugee Crisis, Receiving 1.6 Million of their Migrants, who now make-up about 3% of Columbia's Population. The Colombian Government Estimates it's Paid $1.5 Billion, a figure Equal to o.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to Care for the Exiles. A Refugee Fund set-up by the World Bank, the United nations, and the Islamic Development Bank Approved $31.5 Million Grant for Columbia in April. Meanwhile, International Donors have Pledged $340 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Help Venezuela Migrants in Colombia and elsewhere.

Some 600,000 Venezuelans in Columbia have been Issued Permits that Allow them to Work and Access Health Care. However, the Government virtually Stopped Handing these out in December 2018, except to Deserting Venezuelan Military Officers. Therefore the Majority of Venezuelans residing in Columbia are Undocumented.

Many find Work as Couriers for Rappi Inc., a Bogota-based Startup that's developed a Delivery App. Teleperformance SE, a Paris-based Company that runs Call Centers and other Customer Relationship Services, employs about 1,000 Venezuelans on Contract in Columbia. No one in Colombia ever objects to dealing with someone with a Venezuelan Accent.

Venezuelans have traditionally regarded Columbia as a Poor and Violent place, so Refugees with Skills and Money still try to go elsewhere if they can. But for others, this is Home for now.

Japan

The Country has long Resisted Immigration, Officially began Issuing Temporary Visas to Unskilled Foreign Workers in April. After years of insisting the Country's Labor Shortages could be Solved by: employing more Woman, Delaying the Retirement Age, and using more Robots. Politicians grudgingly came to a realization that those Steps wouldn't suffice. Japan's Aging Workforce is expected to Shrink 23% in the next 25 years, and Job Vacancies already Outnumber Applicants by more than 3 to 1 in such fields as Construction and Nursing.

The New Program will Grant Five-Year Residency Permits to as many as 345,000 Low-Skilled Workers over the Next Five years. That's a drop in the bucket compared with what's Needed, but in Establishing a Pathway for Permanent Residency, it significance goes beyond math. In the past five years, the Number of Foreigners Working in Japan has Doubled, to almost 2 Million. Many come with Student Visas or through a Technical Training Program meant to Offer Overseas Development Aid, Back-Doors that Allowed Japan to Import Hundreds of Thousands of Low-Paid Workers on Short-Term Visas, without having to Acknowledge them as Immigrants.

Critics of the Trainee Program say it's Susceptible to Abuse by Unscrupulous Companies. In September Three Vietnamese Trainees Sued their Employer for Failing to Tell them their Work Hauling Dirt in Towns near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant may have Exposed them to Radiation.

To Placate Conservative Voter's, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has Argued that if the Visa Program is not an immigration policy, because the Foreign Workers won't be there Permanently. Less Advertised is that the law will let dome Workers Extend their Visas Indefinitely and Eventually Settle in Japan, assuming they can Pass Language and Skills Tests. The Details are Vague, but opening even an narrowest Path to Permanent Residency, for Carpenters and Welders, Not just Bankers and Software Engineers, represents Radical Change.

Bureaucrats in Five Tokyo Ministries and at least 14 Departments are still Working Out the Nuts-and-Bolts of the Policy. By the End of August, The Immigration Services Agency had Granted just 205 New Visas, more than a Third of which went to People Already in the Country.










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