Immigrants Wanted: The Post Study Work Visa and the Politics of Migration in Scotland

What encourages Scottish politicians to see migration as an asset and opportunity at a time when much of Europe and the UK government sees it as a liability?  This paper uses mixed methodologies to explore the case of the post work study visa (PSWV) and to examine the political climate around migration at a key moment in Scottish history, sandwiched between the independence and the EU referendum. The PSWV policy area is illuminating because it allows for analysis of a specific and clearly articulated policy with historic precedent of implementation at the Scottish and national level. I argue that the particular confluence of political opportunity structures within Scotland provides an opportunity for the expression of distinctly pro-immigrant policy preferences. In particular, leadership by a socially-democratic, left-wing, pro-European nationalist political party with the ultimate aim of territorial independence, low barriers of access to the Scottish nation, strong sectoral interests in migration, and a demographic climate of stagnant population growth and relatively little experience with migration create a climate in which migration is perceived as a political and economic opportunity. Further, the depoliticization of immigration has a result of these attributes provides an opportunity for elites to influence and frame the policy debate. Though the combination of these factors might be unique to the Scottish case, this study offers important implications by signaling climates that present an opportunity for policy innovation at the substate regional level.