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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My op-ed in the FT today about why it can be misleading when the migration debate focuses too much on work visas A big theme in my recent book, "What is Immigration Policy For?" which looks at why immigration policy is so difficult for governments to manage www.amazon.co.uk/What-Immigra...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

A piece on my book "What is Immigration Policy For?" in Civil Service World - featuring the curious case of the UK's troubled attempts to admit migrant investors, among other things www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/art...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

In a surprise turn of events I'm on the front cover of The Actuary magazine... Talking about my new book "What is Immigration Policy For?" Available here for anyone who missed it! bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/what-i...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

A mention for my new book in the Economist - and the (I think?) rarely mentioned point that the same set of policies would deliver higher migration in the UK than in less attractive destinations All else equal we should expect UK work/study policies to be a bit more restrictive

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Job alert! Migration Advisory Committee is recruiting a Head of Migration Data & Analysis Deadline 14th May - link in the reply

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Useful new stats from Home Office on how asylum applicants travel to the UK Significant increase in applications from people on visas (mostly work, study or visit), not just small boats Also large differences by nationality: Pakistani and Bangladeshi applicants much more likely to come on visas

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

I’ve always wondered how employers & workers split the cost of UK immigration fees Here it is for Skilled Worker visas from a Home Office survey of sponsors Surprisingly little variation by industry/employer size (in underlying data tables) www.gov.uk/government/p...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Interesting paper: survey experiment finds US public are unconvinced by economic arguments in favour of admitting refugees, more convinced by moral arguments Legal arguments only convincing on the left journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... @sblinder.bsky.social

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Pleased to share my new article in Migration Studies @MigrationJrnl on why it’s so much harder than it sounds for government to select the “best and brightest” migrants I illustrate using the example of two widely criticized 'investor visa' programmes academic.oup.com/migration/ar...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

What rights do unauthorised migrants get? Interesting new paper looks at what rights 28 European countries give ppl without legal right to be there Most countries allow access to emergency care & kids' schooling, few (unsurprisingly) offer financial support cadmus.eui.eu/entities/pub...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

2. BUT Home Office data don’t show any obvious correlation between number of good weather days and boat crossings over long term Any why would it? Much more plausible that a few consecutive days' bad weather affects *timing* of crossings rather than total number in long term

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Deeply sceptical about argument that long-term increase in small boat crossings results from weather Here’s why – but I'm interested in any counterarguments! 1. Yes, weather affects crossings *in short run*. That is clear in data Also more crossings in summer, when risk of death is lower... 1/n

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Calling UKRI-funded doctoral students interested in migration! Apply for an internship with the Migration Advisory Committee - deadline 8th Sept www.ukri.org/apply-for-fu...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Asylum accommodation has shifted a lot over the last 6 years. More hotels but also much higher share in London & SE than under the previous dispersal policy See our new briefing on asylum accommodation for the background migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/br...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

New stats from Home Office: 37% of 2024 asylum applicants arrived on a visa, slightly more than on small boats The remaining 31% will presumably have arrived on other clandestine routes (e.g. lorry), at port/airport with fraudulent docs or via Ireland ...

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Interesting paper on migration & UK training after EU enlargement ➤Migration ➔big drop in formal employer training but only of "less valuable" NVQs, not apprenticeships ➤Bigger impact on older workers &low-skilled jobs ➤economic effect "not likely to be great" due to training/worker groups affected

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Useful new HMRC data on earnings by nationality, though what we really need is data by immigration status Earnings differences will often reflect people's visa route: family, asylum, skilled worker, etc Eg Pakistan/Bangladesh has more family migrants, Philippines more skilled workers

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

New data answers puzzle of why skilled worker visa applications didn't decrease much despite higher salary thresholds: *grants* are down much more Applications: down 24% in July-Dec Grants: down 42% Refusals & withdrawn: up 58% Q: will this be temporary blip as employers adjust to new rules?

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Trump has proposed selling green cards US is basically already selling green cards by getting "investors" to lose some money on investments with below-market rates. It's less controversial only because it doesn't *look* like a naked transaction From my forthcoming book chapter:

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Madeleine Sumption @msumption.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

New proposals from Policy Exchange for restricting work and study visas

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