EU Directives for Migrant Students and Researchers

Abstract

The migration of students and researchers has been viewed positively by most EU member states, even at times when their general immigration policies were restrictive. For example, the three largest recipients of “educational migrants” in the EU — France, Germany, and the UK — initiated active recruitment policies for international students in the late 1990s (Kuptsch 2006: 35). In 2001 more than 200,000 foreigners studied in the UK, almost 200,000 in Germany, and 150,000 in France (OECD 2004: 3). The expansive stance on foreigners entering and residing in a country for educational purposes can be explained by the fact that people admitted under this category stay temporarily rather than permanently since these migrants’ residence permit is usually tied to the completion of a university degree or participation in a research project. The internationalisation of education, which has been enabled by transnational administrative and social networks for students and researchers, further limited hurdles to such mobility. Thus the movement of students and researchers was considered to be international mobility and not immigration (Kolb 2006: 119).