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At least 200,000 Lankans live in Europe The study on migration trends and the presence of Sri Lankans in the European Union by Dr Emiel Vervliet, a Belgium economic and social researcher, says that most refugees and asylum seekers now come from Asia compared to 1993 when the bulk came from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey. The study done in association with Sri Lanka's Migrant Services Centre said the largest groups of Sri Lankan nationals or people of Lankan origin live in four countries. In the UK, there are 50,000 according to OECD data and 65,000 according to other sources), Italy has 23,500 in 1997 and approximately 33,700 in 2002, Germany about 60,000 in 2000 and France about 11,000 in 1996. "Small countries like Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands report rising numbers of Lankan people in their stock of foreign born population: 6.800 in Denmark, 7.500 in Norway and the Netherlands, 7.000 at the end of 2000. Between 1991 and 2000, Denmark granted citizenship to 4,877 persons with Lankan nationality. Switzerland ( a non-EU country) receives years between 1.000 and 2.000 applications for asylum from Sri Lankan nationals, the Netherlands between 1.000 and 1.500," the report, which deals extensively with migration trends of Sri Lankans and others, said. Excerpts
of the report: But most reforms have aimed essentially at tightening border controls, simplifying and speeding up the procedure for examining asylum, applications and amending conditions for entry, residence, employment and family reunion. These restrictive policies were certainly influenced by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA. But in the long run non-economic migration flows (students, family reunion) are more likely to be affected directly. Several countries
(including Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Sweden and the United
Kingdom) have taken measures aimed at dissuading false asylum seekers.
New legislation includes higher prison terms of people smugglers, higher penalties for employers using irregular labour (Spain, Finland and Portugal) and even deportation of foreigners in illegal situations. The most common criterion for eligibility is the right acquired through employment. But this may lead to a perverse effect in so far as it could encourage illegal employment in the hope of an amnesty. Italy has conducted four regularisation programmes in 15 years and has experienced extensive fraud in its occupation-based amnesties, with applicants submitting false job contracts. The decision to establish a regularisation programme is complex, having significant pros and cons. Such programmes bring people out of the shadow and provide them with the status and the rights necessary to became more successful members of society. From a public security perspective, regularisation can also be seen as a wise course of action. It provides important information to governments on the number of persons in irregular situations, their network and settlement patterns. There are, however, also potentially negative consequences. The most frequently cited is that regularisation programmes often encourage future illegal immigration, sometimes even in greater numbers than those occurring before the regularisation started. A second argument against regularisation is that such programmes reward law-breaking. For countries having legal immigration systems, whether of a temporary or a permanent nature, regularisation programmes result in queue-breaking, with irregular migrants entering before those who have been waiting their turn. Another possible drawback is that regularisation programmes may prevent countries from creating formal admission systems, particularly those directed towards low skilled workers. Largely due to these negative consequences several countries (Denmark and Switzerland) have had either extremely limited regularisation programmes or none at all. Integration A large proportion of foreign wage earners also work in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. On the other hand, foreigners are distinctly under-represented in the energy sector, in financial services and government. Refugees/asylum
seekers Employment
migration Conversion from a temporary to a permanent residence permit is possible at the earliest after five years of residence. However, conversion is subject to conditions. For instance, employees must have made 60 monthly contributions to the obligatory pension fund and should speak German. To promote the integration of foreigners, support in the form of language and integration-training courses will be made available to all foreigners who reside legally in the country. Permits
for labour immigration are given in four categories: 2. A permanent residence permit through a points-based system: if (economically) needed, the government will grant a number of permits to applicants who successfully pass a point-test. Criterion will be: age, level of formal education, professional experience, knowledge of German, educational level of the partner, composition of the family and previous stay in Germany. Applicants do not need to have a job offer to be eligible for the permit. This will serve as an additional tool for immigration control and is expected to be open to only a very limited number of immigrants during a testing phase in the next few years. 3. Temporary permits granting access to the labour market: as in the past; an employer has to request a permit which can only be granted under the condition that the appropriate labour supply is not available from within Europe. It is worth mentioning that if regional labour market circumstances require it, workers for a certain occupation and within a certain regain can be recruited without testing for the availability of labour in the domestic market. Only those employed in jobs that require at least three years of vocational training are eligible. 4. Self-employed can be admitted if this appears to be in the (regional) economic interest. The law gives a flexible interpretation. In general, economic interests are met if the self-employed invest at least one million Euros and create at least 10 jobs. People who have migrated for other reasons than work can seek employment under specific conditions: 1. Students can obtain a permit for one year upon completion of their course. They are not allowed to work during their studies; 2. Accompanying family has the same rights as the main applicant, even if they would not be eligible as an individual. 3. Refugees are allowed to work; their initial temporary permit can be made permanent after at least three years of residence. Asylum seekers are allowed to work once they have been in the country for at least one year. Inward
flows Recently clandestine immigration has increased along the Italian coastline. Illegal migrants arriving by sea usually request asylum. The Italian authorities process their applications and they then move northwards into the richer parts of Italy. Refugees
and asylum seekers -
Family reunification - The principal nationality represented in family reunification permits was Albanians, whose number surpassed that of Moroccans. Other major groups included those from China, Sri Lanka, Romania, the Philippines and Macedonia. Most applications come from foreigners who reside in the north of Italy. Naturalisation in Italy is practically negligible. Requirements are stringent (10 years of residence and adequate income) and rejection rates reach 66%. Of the new citizens in 2000 (11,570), 84% were naturalised following a marriage to an Italian. The number of recorded births to foreigners recorded in Italy is more significant and reached 26,000 in 2000, a 22% increase over the previous years and 4.8% of all Italian births.
Migration for employment and work permits - Labour
market integration - Trends in migration flows - The data shows the UK continues to attract immigrants at high levels. Evidence points to a continuation of economic migration into the United Kingdom, as mostly young migrants are attracted to the strong economic growth and the flexibility of the UK labour market. Naturalisations
Migration for employment-and work permits- the number of foreign nationals working in the UK fluctuated between 850,000 and 900,000 in the 1990-1997 period but has risen strongly since 1998. Nearly 40% of foreign workers are from other EU countries. The data suggests that only one quarter of long-term work permit holders have applied for and been accepted for settlement. Thus, for the most part, the work permit system is characterised by a turnover of labour. Professional and managerial workers continue to account for the majority of employed migrants. The net gain of these workers in 1999 was 33,500, and 35.000 in 2000. In contrast, the net gain of manual and clerical workers fell sharply to 7,900 in 1999 and 5,000 in 2000. An analysis of the industries to which the 64,600 work permits (including first authorisations) were granted in 2000 reveals that two sectors dominated: health and medical services and computer services. Administrative, business and management services, and financial services were the other major industries. Health care professionals accounted for 40% of all permits to South Africans and nearly all of those to Filipinos. Nearly half of all permits to Indians were for computer analysts and programmers. US citizens still top the list of recipients with 20% work permits. The second and third groups are respectively India and the Philippines. Lankans
in UK In 1971 the situation changed drastically - 64 percent of those born in Sri Lanka and living in the UK were the offspring of parents who had both been born in the New Commonwealth, dominantly Sri Lanka. The census identified 17,045 individuals born in Sri Lanka; Between 1971 and 1981 the Sri Lankan population increased annually by 4.3 % and by 4.1 % between 1981 and 1991, bringing the total number at 39,387 in 1991. In contrast to the early 1960s and 1970s, by the early 1990s the biggest single component of Sri Lankan migration to the UK concerned refugees fleeting the war in the North East of the country. An estimate of the total population of Sri Lankan origin by the end of the 1990s suggests around 65,000 residents, including British-born offspring. Trends They were generally underrepresented in inner London and were virtually absent from districts with strong concentrations of other ethnic minority or immigrant populations, such as the Black Carribeans concentration in Brixton in inner South London or the Bangladesh district immediately to the east of the City. Economic
characteristics of the Sri Lankan population: For Indians the employment rate is between 12 and 14 percent, for Bangladesh and Pakistan between 27 and 32 percent; the Sri Lankan group is particularly strongly represented in the distributive trades, in health and education and in the business services. This distribution mirrors that of other relatively skilled migration from countries such Malaysia and Singapore. |
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