This publication constitutes the thirty-seventh report of the OECD’s Continuous Reporting System on Migration. The report is divided into five chapters plus a statistical annex.

The current situation of high and persistent unemployment in many OECD countries, combined with ageing populations and workforces, has brought back the debate over immigration policy. One prominent issue is the extent to which immigrants may rely on social benefits and public services. Beliefs about this net fiscal contribution of immigrants – how much they pay in taxes in comparison to what they receive in support – are among the main elements shaping public opinion on migration.

Immigration flows are rising in OECD countries, but remain well below pre-crisis levels. In 2011, total permanent immigration rose overall in OECD countries from 2010, but was still below four million. Preliminary 2012 data suggest a further increase. Temporary labour migration was essentially stagnant relative to 2010, at just below two million entries. OECD countries continue to attract students from around the world, with the number of international students in 2010 up 6% on 2009.

The following chapter gives a broad overview of recent developments in international migration movements in OECD countries. It describes permanent immigration flows and changes in status in 2011, before describing the situation with respect to departures. More detail is provided on certain categories of migration, in particular temporary labour migration, international students and asylum seekers. An analysis by origin follows, as well as a picture of the evolution of the foreign-born population over the decade. Two special topics close the overview section, one dealing with labour migrants and the incidence of these who arrive with jobs, the second with family migration of married persons. The policy section that follows describes developments in policies that regulate the entry and stay of foreign nationals in OECD countries. The crisis has had a restrictive effect on labour migration in general, but with attention focused on attracting migrants perceived as bringing benefits to the destination country, such as investors and entrepreneurs, graduating international students and EU Blue Card migration.

The first part of this chapter provides detailed evidence on the labour market outcomes of migrants in OECD countries relative to those of their native-born peers. It shows that the employment outcomes of the foreign-born vary greatly across countries but also across demographic groups, with certain groups of migrants being in particularly critical situations. A discussion follows on whether the recent economic developments have affected the progress made by migrants over the past decade. The chapter continues with some evidence on the representation of migrants in new hires. The second part of the chapter describes the latest developments in integration policies in the OECD. It highlights the importance of integration policies in national agendas and the increasing attention paid to the labour market integration of migrants as the means to improve economic performance and mitigate social pressures.

Whether immigrants make the fiscal challenges faced by OECD countries more difficult or whether they aid in addressing them is a topical question in many OECD countries. This chapter provides a first-time comparative analysis of the fiscal impact of immigration in OECD countries, using data for all European OECD countries, as well as Australia, Canada and the United States. It also includes a comprehensive overview of the literature and the methodological issues involved in estimating the fiscal impact of migration. Depending on the assumptions made and the methodology used, estimates of the fiscal impact of immigration vary, although in most countries it tends to be small in terms of GDP and is around zero on average across OECD countries.Immigrants tend to have a less favourable net fiscal position than the native-born, but this is almost exclusively driven by the fact that immigrant households contribute on average less in terms of taxes and social security contributions than the native-born and not by a higher dependence on benefits. Employment is the single most important determinant of migrants’ net fiscal balance, particularly in countries with comprehensive social protection systems. More generally, differences in the composition of the migrant population by migration category (labour, family, humanitarian) account for a large part of the cross-country variation of migrants’ fiscal position relative to that of the native-born. There is also a strong impact of the age of immigrants on their net fiscal position.

Discrimination is a key obstacle to the full integration of immigrants and their offspring into the labour market and the society as a whole. This chapter provides an overview of discrimination against immigrants and their children in OECD countries – its measurement, incidence and policy solutions – on the basis of the empirical literature and policy practices.The actual prevalence of discrimination is difficult to assess, since the disadvantage of immigrants and their offspring in many domains of public life may be attributable to many other factors – both observed and non-observed – than ethnic origin itself. Testing studies which try to isolate the effect of discrimination in hiring suggest that it is not uncommon for immigrants and their offspring to have to send more than twice as many applications to get invited to a job interview than persons without a migration background who have an otherwise equivalent CV.Most OECD countries have taken measures to combat discrimination, although the scale and scope of the measures varies widely. Much of the effect of most policy measures against discrimination appears to stem rather from raising awareness about the issue than from any direct influence which they may have on preventing discrimination.

Most of the data published in this annex have been provided by national correspondents of the continuous reporting system on migration appointed by the OECD Secretariat with the approval of the authorities of member countries. Consequently, these data are not necessarily based on common definitions. Countries under review in this annex are OECD countries for which data are available, as well as the Russian Federation. The continuous reporting system on migration has no authority to impose changes in data collection procedures. It is an observatory which, by its very nature, has to use existing statistics. However, it does play an active role in suggesting what it considers to be essential improvements in data collection and makes every effort to present consistent and well-documented statistics.