New research published in International Migration Review investigates the long-term effects of visas on migration processes, finding that travel visa restrictions significantly decrease both immigration and emigration.
Using unique migration and visa data from the DEMIG project, Mathias Czaika and Hein de Haas look at the short- and long-term effects of travel visa policy regimes on immigration and emigration. Their research shows that the immigration-reducing effect of migration restrictions like visas is to a large extent undermined by a simultaneous emigration-reducing effect, whereby the return of migrants is discouraged, decreasing overall circulation and encouraging long-term settlement.
The authors further suggest that visa requirements are detrimental to economic growth by neutralizing business cycle effects and making migration less responsive to economic fluctuations in both destination and origin societies.