Global Mobility During the Pandemic

The article is aimed at examining the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on international migration and the immigration policies of the main host countries. The authors distinguish three periods in the response of nation states to the outbreak of the virus. The first one (February–March 2020) was securitization. During this period, the public health imperative was placed above economic considerations. The second period (spring 2020 – autumn 2021) was adaptation. The third, in which we now live, could be called routinization. Many countries, with the exception of those with a zero tolerance policy for COVID‑19, have chosen to coexist with the virus. The authors demonstrate a significant reduction in migration flows as a direct result of the closure of state borders. Different types of migration have been affected differently by the pandemic. Non-labor market migration (family reunification, humanitarian migration, etc.) suffered the most. The new situation reduced the number of asylum applications (though not the number of refugees themselves). Student migration was initially subject to severe restrictions, but by the end of 2020, many of them were lifted. As for labor migration, despite the draconian measures to reduce it, initially taken in a number of countries, it was soon restored to its previous volumes. The pandemic made it evident how deeply the national economies depend on migration. That is why significant changes were made to immigration policy aimed at full access of migrants to social security systems and the settlement of their legal status. In particular, many G‑20 countries, regardless of their political regimes, have introduced measures such as free medical examinations and medical care for migrant workers, including undocumented ones.