Labour Migration from South Asia to the European Union: Economic Benefits, Recruitment Risks, and Worker Integration

Abstract

Labour migration from South Asia to the European Union is becoming increasingly important as European economies confront persistent labour shortages, population ageing, and a declining working-age population. Workers from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and neighbouring countries increasingly participate in European labour markets across sectors ranging from information technology and engineering to construction, logistics, manufacturing, hospitality, agriculture, and care services. This paper examines whether South Asia-EU labour mobility can become a sustainable response to European labour demand while generating meaningful benefits for migrant workers and origin countries. Particular attention is given to recruitment fees, intermediary chains, debt, contract substitution, skills mismatch, employer dependence, language acquisition, housing, qualification recognition, and labour mobility. The evidence indicates that migration can create substantial gains when workers fill genuine shortages and are matched to jobs that use their skills productively. These gains are weakened when recruitment is financed by workers, when contracts change after arrival, when migrants are placed substantially below their qualification level, or when legal and practical dependence on one employer prevents efficient mobility. Sustainable migration should therefore be understood not as the transfer of labour units but as a transnational labour-market system requiring governance across origin and destination countries. The paper supports an employer-pays recruitment model, transparent contracts, direct worker-employer communication, skills verification, pre-departure preparation, language support, post-arrival integration, and meaningful access to remedies.