Admitting Labour Migrants

Ensuring that labour migration pathways function effectively is a persistent policy challenge for OECD and EU countries. The decision on whom to admit as labour migrants, and under what conditions must balance labour market needs against broader social and political considerations. This report provides a comparative overview of how OECD and EU countries regulate the admission of foreign nationals for work, examining the tools used to verify recruitment need – labour market tests, shortage occupation lists, and numerical limits – alongside eligibility criteria, acceleration mechanisms such as priority processing and recognised employer schemes, and the platforms providing public information on labour migration pathways to employers and workers. It concludes with a review of the administrative factors that shape access to these pathways in practice: processing times, fees, and documentary requirements. By benchmarking how these tools are designed and applied across 220 labour migration pathways in 41 OECD and EU countries, the report supports policymakers in analysing the trade-offs of specific admission policy choices and designing more effective labour migration systems that can meet their objectives