Skilled Migration Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article analyses the role of skilled migration before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasizing the health sector. Using official statistics, it investigates the evolution of the migrant skilled professionals from this sector over the last decade and the difficulties they face in different European countries. A special analysis is devoted to recognizing and validating the professional credentials of migrant healthcare workers and their crucial importance nowadays. Some comparisons have been made between the health sector in the UK and Spain by pointing out the importance of foreign doctors and nurses in mitigating the pandemic’s effect even during periods of lockdown and border closures. The conclusion of this research confirms the necessity of a collective and sustainable response to address the global shortage of health professional regulations and bureaucratic difficulties related to work permissions and authorizations in the post-Covid-19 recovery era.