Publication - Strategy/plan

Migration: supporting the future of Scotland's economy and communities

Published: 29 August 2026
Directorate: Culture and External Affairs Directorate
Topic: Communities and third sector, Economy, Public sector, +1 more … Work and skills
ISBN: 9781807754686

An overview of Scotland’s population and demographic position, the role of migration in supporting population sustainability, economic growth and community resilience, and the Scottish Government’s proposals to help attract, retain and support people to settle in Scotland.

Supporting documents

Endnotes

1. Diffley Partnership, 56 ° North (2025), Understanding Business, June 2025 p.13.

2. Food and Drink Federation (2026), Food and drink industry at a glance, The economic importance of the Scottish food and drink manufacturing industry.

3. Fragomen LLP. (October 2025), UK immigration costs: an international comparison of skilled worker, researcher and student visas in 2025.

4. Home Office (2025), A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: statement and accompanying consultation on earned settlement.

5. House of Commons Library (2026), McKinney, CJ. and Kirk-Wade, E., Research Briefing – Immigration fees, Fee increases over time p. 12.

6. IPPR, GMIAU, Praxis (2023), Mort L, Whitaker-Yilmaz J, Morris M and Shah A (March 2023), ‘A punishing process’: Experiences of people on the 10-year route to settlement, IPPR, GMIAU and Praxis.

7. Jones, C. (2022), The end of economic growth? Unintended consequences of a declining population. American Economic Review, 112(11), 3489–3527.

8. Jutvik, K. and Holmqvist, E. (2025), Precarious Residence? A study on the Impact of Restrictive Migration Policy on Migrants’ Subjective Well-Being and Stress, Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 15(4), p. 1.

9. London Economics (2023),The benefits and costs of international higher education students to the UK economy Report for the Higher Education Policy Institute, Universities UK International, and Kaplan International Pathways. p.49.

10. Migrant Integration Policy Index (2025) Unlocking Integration – Enabling Participation p.45.

11. Migration Advisory Committee (2024), Graduate Route: Rapid Review (Accessible).

12. Migration Advisory Committee (2025), Family Route: Financial Requirements Review.

13. Migration Advisory Commitee (2026), Temporary Shortage List: Stage 1 report.

14. Migration Observatory (2024), Brindle, B., & Fernández-Reino, M., Migrants’ experiences of the UK immigration system. Migration Observatory report, COMPAS, University of Oxford.

15. Migration Observatory (2025), Work Visas and Migrant Workers in the UK.

16. Migration Observatory (2025b) Jorgensen, N. & Walsh, P. W., Family migration to the UK. Migration Observatory briefing, COMPAS, University of Oxford.

17. Migration Observatory (2026), Migrants in the UK labour market: an overview.

18. Migration Observatory (2026a), Changes to settlement: what do they mean?

19. Migration Observatory (2026b), Migration, vacancies and labour market skills.

20. Migration Policy Scotland, Kay, R. and Price, L. (October 2024), Open the Door: Migrants Facing Financial Disadvantage and their Needs for Support.

21. Migration Policy Scotland, Kyambi, S. and Kay, R. (2026 – forthcoming) Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland.

22. National Records of Scotland (2026a), Mid-2025 population estimates.

23. National Records of Scotland (2026b), Projected Population of Scotland: 2024-based.

24. Office for National Statistics (2026c), Long-term International Migration, Provisional: Year Ending December 2025.

25. Ozkul, D. & Godin, M. (2025), Exclusion by Design: Digital Identification and the Hostile Environment for Migrants. In collaboration with Nazek Ramadan and Anne Stoltenberg (Migrant Voice) and Sara Alsherif (Open Rights Group).

26. Royal College of Nursing (2025), Royal College of Nursing Survey.

27. Scotland’s Migration Service, Scotland’s Migration Service.

28. Scottish Government (2020), Migration: Helping Scotland Prosper.

29. Scottish Government (2022), Rural Visa pilot proposal.

30. Scottish Government (2024), Supporting and enabling sustainable communities: action plan to address depopulation.

31. Scottish Government (2025a), Migration – Meeting Scotland’s Needs.

32. Scottish Government (2025b), UK Immigration White Paper 2025: Scottish Government Proposals.

33. Scottish Government (2025c), Putting families at the heart of family visa policy – consultation: SG response.

34. Scottish Government (2026a), Industry statistics Table 2.5 (Scotland Employment, Section A: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing), Table 2.6 (GB Employment, Section A), and the overall Scotland and GB employment totals in the same tables.

35. Scottish Government (2026b), Scotland’s Migration Service: early insights evaluation.

36. Scottish Government (2026c) Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), Rural Scotland Data Dashboard.

37. Scottish Social Services Council (2025) Scottish Employer Skills Survey.

38. UK Government (2025), Employer’s guide to right to work checks.

39. UK Government (2026a), Graduate Visa Overview.

40. UK Government (2026b), Mahmood: My reforms will save the asylum system for a generation.

41. UK Government (2026c), Visa brake: changes to the UK visa system.

42. UK Government (2026d), Skilled Worker Visa guidance.

43. Wilding, J (2025), No Access to Justice 2: Mapping the UK’s continuing immigration and asylum legal advice crisis.

44. Williams, W (2020), Windrush Lessons Learned Review, Home Office.