Assessing the Implications of Covid-19 for South–North International Migration

Abstract

This paper examines the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for South–North international migration, with the aim of informing post-pandemic mobility governance. It first outlines pre-pandemic South–North migration, which was expanding despite rising political tensions and border controls. Drawing on data and reports from international organisations, the paper then reviews five areas. In labour migration, job losses in 2020 disproportionately affected migrants in precarious sectors such as hospitality, construction and healthcare, while automation and remote work widened the digital divide for low-skilled migrants. Remittances, a critical lifeline for many countries in the South, fell in 2020 in the sharpest decline in a decade. International student mobility dropped by nearly 70% in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in 2020. Refugee resettlement fell by half compared with 2019, and restrictive asylum policies and closed humanitarian corridors undermined global solidarity. Unequal access to vaccines and rising xenophobia further delayed mobility recovery and deepened the social exclusion of migrants. The paper proposes investment in digital skills and labour market inclusion, equitable access to healthcare, integration of migrants into recovery policies, and stronger coordination among organisations such as WHO, IOM and UNHCR. It concludes that COVID-19 has fundamentally reshaped South–North migration and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities, and that recovery requires cooperation between sending and receiving countries.

Abstract prepared by the editorial office from the full text of the article; the authors did not supply one.