Navigating Immigration Policies and Labor Shortages

The attitude towards immigration in Europe and America is hardening under a wave of populist politics, and businesses are finding that despite labour shortages in many sectors, bringing workers in from abroad is becoming harder.

The BBC's Frey Lindsay reports from Stockholm on a phenomenon dubbed "talent expulsions" - highly skilled workers being ordered to leave the country because their paperwork is not perfectly in order.

A similarly bureaucratic approach has been taken in the UK, where it is dubbed the "hostile environment" for immigrants. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum some three million EU citizens suddenly find themselves subject to it. Dutch campaigner Monique Hawkins tells how she was told to leave the UK despite having lived there more than three decades. Meanwhile Danny Brooks of international recruitment firm Virtual Human Resources says UK businesses are already finding it much tougher to attract the talented employees they need.

We also get the view from Singapore. About half the city-state's residents are immigrants, after several decades of a successful pro-business immigration policy. We ask former diplomat Kishore Mahbubani what is the secret of his country's success.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: "Denied" rubber stamp; Credit: bankrx/Getty Images)