Research project AP/24 (Research action AP)
The flow of migration to Belgium for the pursuit of studies has been the subject of scant previous research in Belgium. The object of this research proposal is to chart and inventory this migratory flow in its entirety through quantitative and qualitative analyses.
A statistical analysis of administrative databases will highlight the trends in this migration flow which have become apparent over the past few decades (1980-2005). This long-term time-series data will be used to show the scale and diversity of the student migration. At the same time, a static snapshot is being elaborated in order to define the recent period under study.
These facts and figures will be supplemented by an analysis of administrative dossiers built up by the Aliens Office (Ministry of the Interior). This office is responsible for implementing the immigration policy and, when setting its policy, bases itself on the Aliens Act dd. 15 December 1980 on access to Belgian territory, residence, settlement and removal of foreign nationals (hereinafter referred to as Vw (Vreemdelingenwet) and, as regards student migration in particular, on sections 58-61 thereof.
The interventions of the various players involved in student migration are centralized in the administrative dossiers of the Aliens Office. This micro study of the sojourn in Belgium of a representative sample of that student migration will, hopefully, deepen our insight into this migratory flow. If deemed expedient, this information will be supplemented with an analysis of a random sample of the students’ personal files at the teaching establishments.
The quantitative analysis is supplemented with a qualitative analysis as a result of which – via a literature search, supplemented with interviews of experiential experts, privileged witnesses and present or former students – different insights into student migration are gained. In that way recent trends and profiles in this migratory phenomenon can be spotted, placed on record and then correlated with policy measures, both on migration management and on the provision of education. The aim of this research project is to clearly show to what degree this migration (which, by definition, is of a temporary nature) gives rise to permanent residence and what the reasons are for that settlement. In this part of the report, the impact of student migration on the countries of origin is also analysed.
Based on this analysis, the extent of future challenges can be defined and recommendations formulated for a forward-looking policy.
