Skills and points migration

The new millennium has seen the emergence of a trend for labour to be internationally mobile and to become part of a global citizenry. This continues to drive both highly skilled individuals and workers filling urgent job shortages, to move from the less developed to the developed world, as well as between developed countries.

Most countries offer paths to work permits or residence if an applicant is sponsored by an employer. A points-based or merit-based immigration system is where the eligibility to immigrate is determined by an applicant’s ability to score above a threshold of points that take cognizance of the applicant’s education level, language fluency, an existing job offer or an existing family connection already in the host country. 

The most popular English-speaking immigration-friendly countries that use skills and/or points-based systems are the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Singapore.