Are newcomers mostly seeking asylum in our country?
IN SHORT: MIGRATION
- Migration is often seen as a threat to our welfare state.
- There’s this idea that asylum migration is getting particularly out of hand.
- Migration, however, isn’t dominated by one group or motivation.
- War and conflict aren’t the driving forces behind migration to our country they’re often made out to be.
- Demand for labour is an important driving force behind the increasing migration.
In the public debate, foreigners often function as scapegoats. It won’t come as a surprise, therefore, that migration will be the theme of the 2024 elections. Our country is allegedly being flooded by asylum seekers, with major consequences for our economy and welfare state. But according to migration researcher Dries Lens, affiliated to the Centre for Social Policy (UAntwerp), the reality is much more subtle.
Heated discussions, clever slogans, juggling with figure… When the public debate on migration gets going, verbal fireworks are guaranteed. It’s a much-talked-about theme, but researcher Dries Lens thinks the debate is lacking nuance. ‘It’s not always clear what we’re talking about when it comes to migration. Contrary to what the public debate would suggest, newcomers hail from a wide range of countries. What is often forgotten, for example, is the high share of migrants from the European Union, who make up about half of the immigration to our country.’
More and more asylum seekers?
The reasons why people are coming here also vary a lot. ‘There’s this idea that non-EU nationals mainly come here to seek asylum, but studies and work are equally important motivations. For this group family reunification remains the most important reason for migration. But for EU nationals work is far and away the most important motivation to migrate.’
There’s this idea that non-EU nationals mainly come here to seek asylum, but studies and work are equally important motivations.
According to Lens, there’s another persistent myth about asylum: the idea that the number of asylum seekers coming to Belgium is getting out of hand. ‘Ever since the nineties, the number of asylum applications has had its ups and downs, as it responds to worldwide outbreaks of war and conflict. But on the whole we do not see a structural upwards trend.’
It’s the economy, stupid!
War and conflict aren’t the driving forces behind migration to our country they’re often made out to be. Our economy, on the other hand, does turn out to be an important factor. Lens: ‘Data show that migration is strongly correlated with the economic climate. When the economy is growing, the number of job opportunities increases, which in turn attracts migrants. When our economy is doing badly and demand for labour is falling, more migrants leave and fewer arrive.’
Without migration, the engine driving our country is in danger of stalling, Lens believes. ‘In recent years, we’ve seen a considerable rise in the demand for workers in different sectors of the Belgian economy: from the construction and hospitality sectors and agriculture to scientific research and healthcare. More and more vacancies are filled by migrants. The labour market is getting tighter and tighter, so employers increasingly try to recruit personnel abroad.’