Migration in Jamaica A COUNTRY PROFILE 2018 Migration in Jamaica Migration A COUNTRY PROFILE 2018 PROFILE A COUNTRY International Organization for Migration Dominica Drive, The Towers, 6th Floor, Kingston 5, Jamaica Tel: +876 968 0569 | Fax: +876 920 4262 The opinions expressed in the publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. Publisher: International Organization for Migration Dominica Drive, The Towers, 6th Floor, Kingston 5, Jamaica Tel: +876 968 0569 Fax: +876 920 4261 _____________________________________________________ © 2018 International Organization for Migration (IOM) _____________________________________________________ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. 14_18 Migration in Jamaica A COUNTRY PROFILE 2018 by Elizabeth Thomas-Hope with the assistance of Suzette Martin-Johnson and Zelris Lawrence CONTENTS List of tables ........................................................................................v List of figures ......................................................................................vi List of boxes ...................................................................................... viii Abbreviations and acronyms...............................................................ix Executive summary ........................................................................... xiii Part A: Brief Historical Overview of Migration Trends for Jamaica ........1 A.1. Historical overview ................................................................................... 1 A.1.1. Population, labour force and migration ......................................... 1 A.1.2. Jamaica’s post-colonial economy .................................................... 4 A.2. Migration trends ...................................................................................... 5 A.2.1. Net population movement since the mid-twentieth century ......... 5 A.2.2. Immigration trends from the 1970s ............................................... 6 A.2.3. Emigration trends from the 1970s ............................................... 11 A.2.4. Other migration trends ................................................................ 12 A.2.5. Trafficking in persons .................................................................... 13 Part B: Current migration patterns within the development context ..15 B.1. Demographic, socioeconomic and development context ....................... 15 B.1.1. Demographic context ................................................................... 15 B.1.2. Socioeconomic and development context.................................... 23 B.2. Immigrants .............................................................................................. 35 B.2.1. Introduction to immigrants ......................................................... 35 B.2.2. Returned migrants ........................................................................ 43 B.2.3. Labour immigrants ........................................................................ 47 B.2.4. Refugees and asylum seekers ....................................................... 52 B.2.5. Foreign students (Postgraduate and PhD) .................................... 54 B.2.6. Naturalization of foreign-born persons ........................................ 55 B.2.7. Irregular immigrants ..................................................................... 56 B.2.8. Trafficking in persons .................................................................... 56 B.3. Emigrants ................................................................................................ 58 B.3.1. Introduction to emigrants ............................................................ 58 B.3.2. Jamaica’s main emigration corridors ........................................... 60 B.3.3. Temporary labour migration ......................................................... 71 B.3.4. Students abroad (Postgraduate) .................................................. 72 B.3.5. Refugees and asylum seekers from Jamaica abroad ..................... 73 B.4. Diaspora .................................................................................................. 74 B.5. Remittances from nationals living abroad .............................................. 79 Migration in Jamaica: A Country Profile 2018 iii B.6. Migration trends and their consequences for socioeconomic and human development ......................................... 87 B.6.1. Introduction – Framework for analysis ......................................... 87 B.6.2. Socioeconomic and human development .................................... 88 B.6.3. Major trends in migration, 2007–2016 ......................................... 89 B.6.4. Consequences of the current migration trends ........................... 94 Part C: Migration policy framework .................................................117 C.1. Overview of recent migration policy developments and key domestic legislation ........................................ 117 C.1.1. Policy developments ................................................................... 117 C.1.2. Domestic legislation .................................................................... 119 C.2. Key institutional actors involved in migration management and diasporas ................................................................. 143 C.2.1. Government agencies ................................................................. 143 C.2.2. Non-governmental and private sector organizations ................. 146 C.3. Analysis of policy coherence ................................................................ 150 C.3.1. Policy coherence in migration management .............................. 150 C.3.2. Inter-agency coordinating committees ....................................... 155 C.3.3. Mainstreaming migration into development plans .................... 156 C.3.4. Jamaica’s diaspora and development ......................................... 157 C.3.5. Overall assessment of the migration policy context ................... 157 C.3.6. Impact of recent reforms ............................................................ 159 Part D: Conclusions ..........................................................................161 D.1. Main findings on current migration trends ........................................... 161 D.2. Possible future trends in migration ...................................................... 164 D.3. Recommendations regarding improving migration statistics ............... 165 D.3.1. Identification and explanation of existing data gaps and problems encountered in data collection ........... 165 D.4. Recommendations on future research on migration ............................ 171 D.5. Recommendations on migration management .................................... 172 Annexes ...........................................................................................179 Annex I: Glossary of terms ........................................................................... 179 Annex II: Summary of sources of data ......................................................... 181 Annex III: Statistical tables ........................................................................... 183 Annex IV: References ................................................................................... 198 iv Migration in Jamaica: A Country Profile 2018 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Net migration rates for Jamaica .............................................................. 6 Table 2: Returning residents and deportees by annual average annual flow for each decade ................................................................... 8 Table 3: Total number of reports of trafficking received by the OCR by year and type, 2007–2015 ............................................................... 14 Table 4: Population urban and rural distribution for 2001 and 2011 ................. 21 Table 5: Nursing staffing needs and availability, 2016 ........................................ 60 Table 6: Numbers of persons with Jamaica as country of last residence obtaining legal permanent resident status in the United States by broad class of admission (fiscal years 2006–2015)........................................................................ 62 Table 7: Category of admission of Jamaicans for permanent residence in Canada in 2016 ................................................................. 67 Table 8: Annual flows of tourists visiting Jamaica, 2006–2015 ........................... 78 Table 9: Remittances in relation to Jamaica’s