In this Reader we set out to present the growing research field on highly skilled migrants, which has shifted over the years from a clear distinction between migrants from the world’s poorer countries and corporate expatriates from the world’s wealthier countries to a more nuanced understanding of the wide variety of capital which each highly skilled migrant brings with him- or herself, regardless of country of origin or visa status. We started out from the premise that highly-skilled migrants are one group of migrants which is rarely politicized or seen in a negative light, whether in political or in public discourse, and examined the nuance in the concept and phenomenon of the contemporary highly skilled migrant. We noted that the discourse surrounding them perpetuates an image of high-earners with needed skills, who integrate easily and quickly. This perception makes them a “wanted” migration flow (Triadafilopoulos 2013). However, as with most migration flows, there is quite some distance between the popular perceptions of this migration flow and the more nuanced picture uncovered by social research. The objective of this Reader was to provide a basic understanding of the migration of the highly-skilled, but also to raise questions and to contribute to closing the divide between popular perception and research-based findings.

More specifically, we focused on the many gaps and contradictions interwoven into this research field. They can be divided into three broad groups of issues: conceptualisation and definition; integration patterns; mobility patterns. The most salient issue in the literature we examined is how the North-South divide is perpetuated in the field of study, and how it shapes, in an iterative way, the debates about these three groups of issues. Assumptions, perceptions and conceptualisations change according to what migrant we are discussing: a migrant from the Global North or the Global South; what state policy we are analysing: immigration or emigration policy. The different results for different sub-groups of the seemingly same highly skilled migrant category are stunning. They are also important to be aware of, so that future research employs more aware and more methodologically sound approaches to highly skilled migrants. At the same time, we also emphasize that the ongoing use of the term ‘expatriates’ to refer to all migrants from the Global North is a misnomer, and, moreover, one which leads to continuing misperceptions (cf. Klekowski von Koppenfels 2014, 2016).

5.1 Definitions

As we have shown in Chap. 2, the definitions of the highly skilled vary, and terminology used in literature to describe certain sub-categories varies as well.

Definitions of highly skilled have been proposed predominantly in the research that informs public policy, produced mainly in economics and political science. Hence, they have been driven by the administrative data, where the definitions are decided by policy makers, usually in the immigration policy field. In this light, highly skilled migrants are those who qualify for highly skilled immigration schemes and are thus captured in data by specific immigration channels. These policy-centered approaches use the concepts of educational attainment and skill level to define their target group. Some use these two indicators together with salary as an additional measure. All three are defined in nominal terms, based on official aggregated databases and have been used by economists and policy scholars to support policymakers when designing or evaluating their immigration policies. However, what seemed straightforward two decades ago is now a contested approach.

As regards the first notion in “highly skilled migrant”, the “highly,” the commonly applied cut-off at tertiary education conflates “highly skilled” with “highly educated.” Scholars argue that educational attainment is not reflective of highly skilled in the real world, either because the definition of tertiary educated differs from country to country, it comprises several levels of education (e.g. a college degree vs PhD), or because low-skilled migrants can come to the country of destination to complete tertiary education that qualifies them for the highly skilled label. Moreover, the quality of tertiary education differs across the world, and the educational attainment is not synonymous with skills needed on the labour market. The implied difference in quality of education and training between the North and South educational systems underpins the divide. Similarly, there are many other groups that move internationally outside of the highly skilled migration channels, but whose educational attainment might fit the bill of a highly skilled migrant: these are students, migrant dependants (usually spouses) and refugees. So far, the least problematic group of these three are international students, who are treated by many governments and scholars alike as highly skilled migrants-to-be. However, researchers have also drawn our attention to the fact that spouses or refugees are often skilled migrants, but ones whose skills are not given enough credit at destination. Moreover, the phenomenon of knowledge migration blurs the categories, when dependants and refugees alike attend tertiary education institutions and become students, either international or domestic.

The discussion on educational attainment has led to the new debate on the meaning of “skill” in “highly skilled migrant.” Is tertiary education always equivalent to skills? The overarching pressure on states to participate in the global “race for talent” only exacerbates the problem. As many scholars have argued, “skill” or “talent” is often not measurable in an objective way. Skills and talent are context-dependent and are different from one economy to the next. There are various skill requirements, varying through sectors and labour markets in the countries of destination, and different skills are valued in different societies. Researchers have brought to light the importance of practical, cross-sector skill sets that can be taught in one educational and social system, but not in another. It is also clear that economies will need different skill levels, ranging from sophisticated trade skills to post-doctoral level skills in narrow disciplines. What constitutes a skill or talent is thus decided by the policymakers who design specific recruitment programs. This does then mean that it is impossible to offer a universal definition.

Finally, the notion of “migrant” in “highly skilled migrant” has also been contested. As many scholars have noted, the widely accepted UN definition of an “international migrant” is a person who resides in another country for longer than 12 months. However, many highly skilled migrants engage in circular or temporary migration, under 12 months. The administrative data collection systems are usually geared towards the long-term definition. It means that they do not necessarily capture and take into account the temporary flows. Moreover, the core and traditional idea of a “migrant”, coined in the classic studies of Transatlantic migrations of the past century and lingering to this day in the popular imagination, is that they are a permanent presence, migrating for settlement. Alas, in the modern connected economy, highly skilled migrants with internationally marketable skills (this, on the other hand, is a notion defined by global companies, not policymakers) are very mobile. This concerns such different groups as researchers, managers, technicians or creative professionals. As they move frequently beyond the immigration schemes and rather under the GATS IV provisions, they are often not considered migrants.

This group has been researched by the scholars of business management studies. The longstanding interest in the classic “organisational expatriate,” the constant feature of the global economic system from the 1980s well into the early 2000s, brought about a rich academic research. However, recently scholars have argued for the needed expansion of the field. Indeed, Further work of consolidating the definition and building reliable interdisciplinary taxonomies is crucial for the development of this research field. For the moment many disciplines use many definitions and they often do not talk to each other.

5.2 Integration of the Highly Skilled

In contrast to the lower-skilled, a primary objective of policies focusing on attracting highly skilled migrants is, more often than not, to encourage them to stay. However, since this group of migrants is more prone to mobility than lesser-skilled groups, not only because of their educational background, but also the global opportunity structure for their skills, this objective and their profile come into conflict. Therefore the central question from an employer-centred policy approach is: how to make highly skilled migrants stay and settle? Interestingly enough, the question of retention is important both for the countries of origin and destination: the first interested in attenuating brain drain and maximise brain gain effects, while the latter trying to improve the economic impact of immigration and investment in integration. Consequently, the scholarly interest in integration patterns has grown substantially over recent years and there has been a wealth of literature approaching this question. There are five takeaways of all research in this field so far. First, we noted that sociologists and anthropologists are leading the research into integration of highly skilled migrants, but there are very few political scientists who engage in this field.

Second, we observed that qualitative micro-studies of small samples of immigrants are most commonly showcased, while there are very few large-scale qualitative surveys of these migrants.

Third, labour market/professional integration seems to be the dominant theme; however there is an emerging discussion on a variety of integration challenges of the highly skilled, which shows that they are increasingly viewed as just migrants.

Fourth, and as a consequence of the first observation, cultural capital (social skills and professional skills) is the often-used lens of this analysis. Bourdieusian capital is a part of the internalised baggage of each migrant. During migration tensions arise from the fact that host society puts “country labels” on each individual and their cultural capital. This is an important factor of integration on the labour market, the key element of the decision to settle for the highly skilled. In fact, the highly skilled are at most risk of employment below their skill level and loss of status, which also seem to be exacerbated by female gender (Gauthier 2016; Adamuti-Trache 2011; Purkayastha 2005). The less value cultural capital has in the eyes of the host society, the more painful adjustment trajectories might become. Scholars have noted that often Global Northerners have an easier access to the labour market because of the lower hard and soft barriers to their integration. On the macro level, state cooperation that creates specific opportunity structures, such as enhanced mobility or easier work permit procedures (hard berries), as well as an easier recognition of qualifications (soft barriers). On meso-level they can enjoy professional networks created thanks to enhanced mobility and language skills, and generally a superior opinion as regards their skills and work values. These are the “country labels” at work. We have noted that Southerners might encounter more hard and soft barriers to labour market integration on these two levels, with less opportunity structures and more in-built bias.

Fifth, there is a strand of literature dealing with the integration of the specific category of highly skilled that can be defined as organisational expatriates. They are usually studied as not really in need of integration; Marouk refers to them as “accidental tourists”. There are also no expectations of their integration and their situation has been described as a constant tension between exclusion and inclusion (van Bochove and Engbersen 2015). The fact that for many years this type of migrant dominated the literature had adverse effects on studies of highly skilled in non-expatriate situations, especially, but not only, when coming from the Global South. As this Reader has discussed, the breadth of highly skilled migrants, as well as migrants from the Global North, cannot be limited to the term organisational expatriate. We hope the complexity of the category of the highly skilled migrant has been demonstrated in this Reader.

Sixth, we concluded that integration support in host countries usually focuses on the most vulnerable migrants, who are most often defined by skill level – by being low-skilled. Apart from very few countries (Canada and Australia), highly skilled are believed to be able to find their way to the satisfying future. The negative effects of failed labour market integration can be felt for generations. This is particularly important when we look at highly skilled migrant as an empowered actor, constantly making decisions about their lives and professional development. The way they negotiate the soft barriers to labour market integration may vary depending on each individual situation and capital brought along.

And finally, in our review, we saw that gendered analysis of integration patterns of the highly skilled migrants brings to front the additional obstacles that migrants, especially women, face when pursuing a professional career while migrating internationally. A complex set of tensions between societies of origin and destination, and the individual stance of an empowered migrant brings about a variety of challenges to integration on several levels.

One theme that is common to all these accounts is that highly skilled migrants, even if unsuccessful in their migration project, are still empowered. They are not victims of a global system, but rather they are (often) able to be actors, and in control of their own destiny – however, it is clear that their efforts may nonetheless go wrong for external reasons. It is also clear that many low-skilled migrants are equally able to make independent decisions concerning their migration projects, but as we have demonstrated throughout this Reader, the highly skilled simply have more options for migration. Taking the perspective of the highly skilled migrant into account helps us understand why many of them would stay, even if faced with less than ideal professional pathways in the destination country, and helps us understand why some would move once again regardless of their professional success in the destination country. Elements of integration that are less directly focused on careers, such as lifestyle, urban environment (e.g. Global City), security or simply family dynamics (professional satisfaction for the spouse), are all important elements of migrants’ decision-making. In general, there is still not much literature on these factors not directly related to employment on-professional factors of integration among highly skilled migrants; to have a stronger and more nuanced approach to integration, future research could draw on such aspects as well. The past and current research has been rather focused on the Global Northerners or on Chinese or Indian migrants, and this includes many studies on student migration. The research area is definitely underdeveloped and needs stronger analytical focus to be able to bring all available microstudies and present a coherent narrative on the integration pathways of the highly skilled, as it exists for the low skilled migrants.

5.3 Mobility Patterns

Highly skilled migrants are not restricted to any one global region. Literature has shown growing interest in this type of migration occurring in all directions: South-North, North-North, North-South and South-South (the latter is understudied). For the most part, South-North mobility is approached as long-term, permanent migration. Although there is evidence that South-North mobility of the highly skilled can also be short-term and temporary, still the prevalent discourse in the literature is about highly skilled immigration from developing to developed countries. On the other end of the spectrum lies North-South mobility, with short-term posted migrant workers seen as essential mobile non-migrants. In this context, North-North migrations are in-between. They give us a hint to the future of the highly skilled migration patterns more globally.

Drivers of mobility in the transatlantic migration system are related to economic and political cooperation that has developed in this area over the last (twentieth) century. The transatlantic migration system is organised by state power networks that regulate mobilities of citizens within them and thus the ascent of the European Union with its bold ideas of open borders for goods, services and people has influenced the bilateral policies across the Atlantic. The idea of beneficial influence of people-to-people contacts and profits brought by mobility of certain workers to the transnational businesses has shaped the transatlantic space as we know it today: it went from closed to semi-open space for migrants with the right passports. 100 years ago, poor Europeans were flocking to the Ellis Island in search of better lives, while poor American artists wanted to make it in Paris and return. Tables have turned and it is the temporary mobility of the highly skilled which dominates the transatlantic space nowadays. They cross the Atlantic in both directions, in different ways: as economic immigrants, as temporary visitors, as service providers, as students and as spouses/partners. They use available opportunity structures and enjoy lower risk mobility for professional or individual development. If they decide to settle, it is often because of their consideration of the specific context: lifestyle, professional opportunities. The classic ideas of wage differentials are no longer a decisive factor shaping the decision to stay. Moreover, even if settled for several years or more, the transatlantic migrants are prone to secondary migrations, return or forward. This extreme mobility reflects the future of all global migrations.

5.4 Direction of Further Research

The field of highly skilled migration studies continues to evolve rapidly. It is a challenging field considering limited official data and the wide range of conceptualisations. When there is not any one stable definition, as is the case here, the object of study moves constantly, and changes from scholar to scholar. There is a disconnect between academic disciplines when studying highly skilled migrants; interdisciplinarity is a challenge with respected to the highly-skilled.

There are several emerging themes that in our view could be further explored when researching highly skilled migrants:

  • highly skilled mobility from the Global South – how much can this type of mobility tell us about the assumed particularity and privilege of highly skilled migrants in general? There is a need for more critical and more bias-conscious study of highly skilled flows, even using the administrative data in big quantitative sets.

  • large-scale qualitative studies, which would allow for group cross-comparison in various receiving contexts.

  • More research into the multiple mobility among the skilled and highly skilled migrants which would allow for a redefinition of what migration is in the twenty-first century. We firmly believe that increased mobility, as opposed to settlement, is the phenomenon at play, for a variety of reasons.

  • Large scale qualitative and quantitative studies of opportunity structures that enhance international mobility beyond immigration programs.

  • More nuanced research into the role of family members as skilled migrants in their own right, including an increased focus on same-sex couples.

  • Increasing research into migrants from the Global North, their reasons for migration, and their patterns of mobility.

One thing is certain: as we are in the early stages, the future of research on highly skilled migration looks promising and exciting. As the world around us evolves, the knowledge transfers become crucial for stability and prosperity of the globe, and our understanding of it changes, the highly skilled migrant will become a more important object of study in the years to come.