Migration in Europe countries is increasingly managed; despite structural unemployment, labour shortages threaten the overall competitiveness of their economies. Some privilege and facilitate access of high-skilled immigrants to address this problem. High-skilled immigrants are here defined as having a university degree or extensive/equivalent experience in a given field. Following the Second World War, European countries experimented with guest-worker schemes for low-skilled workers; this raised productivity, addressed labour shortages and supported the golden age of economic growth. This came to an end in the early 1970s when a worldwide economic downturn brought with it recruitment bans. European countries later faced the challenge of new labour shortages, this time in high-skilled sectors. The dynamic nature of a fast changing and globalised world economy through the 1990s and beyond created new challenges for migrants, firms and governments alike. Labour market shortages appeared in particular sectors, including information technology (IT), engineering, biotechnology and health care. European countries gradually recognised the need to act by liberalising their policies in order to compete internationally with other advanced industrial countries for “the best and brightest”. Non-state actors (e.g. employers and unions) were one the main drivers behind these changes. The paper traces the developments of European high-skilled immigration, offering a historical perspective on the current state of policies, as the economic crisis has increased the need for, and aggravated the politics of, high-skilled immigration. Broader trends across Europe are analysed and the main admission mechanisms discussed through relevant examples, including the European Union Blue Card.
