International student mobility, Covid-19, and the labour market: a scoping review
: Mihut, Georgiana; Cullinan, John; Flannery, Darragh; Palcic, Donal; Souto-Otero, Manuel; Wiers-Jenssen, Jannecke; Anabo, Icy Fresno; Kasza, Georgina; Perez-Encinas, Adriana; Bin Qushem, Umar
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
: 2025
: Comparative Migration Studies
: Comparative Migration Studies
: 11
: 13
: 2214-594X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-025-00426-2
: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-025-00426-2
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/484998514
The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant disruptions to both international student mobility and labour markets. Against this background, this scoping review documents findings from 35 studies, published between January 2020 and February 2024, that focused on international student mobility, Covid-19, labour market outcomes, and related regulations. The review shows that the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted (1) the labour market outcomes of international students before studying abroad, through changes in visa regulations, (2) skill acquisition during their mobility, (3) the duration of their studies, and (4) the availability of jobs during and after their mobility period. These negative impacts occurred at a time when international students’ needs for work were heightened. This ‘double whammy’ was more pronounced among international students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, increasing pre-existing inequalities. It was also affected by students’ residency status and policy changes. These findings underline the critical role that temporality plays in shaping the returns to international student mobility. However, the existing literature on the topic is relatively sparse and has primarily relied upon qualitative approaches and rapid research. Future studies are needed to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market outcomes of international students.
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This article is based upon the work from COST Action CA20115 ‘European Network on International Student Mobility: Connecting Research and Practice’, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).