OECD: International Migration Outlook 2010

OECD: Interntinal Migration Outlook 2010

For the first time in its annual International Migration Outlook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development calculated "stay rates" for students converting their status from student to migrant. The 2010 report states that "international students have become a significant group in international migration flows in OECD countries" due to "broader policies to attract and retain highly skilled migrants." Such policies include Canada's facilitation of permanent residency for international graduates. According to figures based on 2007 status changes, the number of student-to-worker status changes is nearly 13,000 in Canada, one of the highest numbers among OECD nations. The OECD reports that the majority of students (61%) who changed status did so for work-related reasons, with a higher share of changes due to marriage in Germany and for humanitarian reasons in Canada.