New global study finds refugee labour mobility more than triples wages and significantly improves safety and wellbeing
First-of-its-kind evaluation, conducted by Talent Beyond Boundaries with the University of Oxford, University of Antwerp and UCLouvain and funded by the World Bank, provides rigorous evidence that skilled-worker visas transform outcomes for displaced people and their families.
[London, UK] 4 August 2026 – Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) announced last week the release of Skilled-Worker Visas for Refugee Talents: An Impact Evaluation, a global research project conducted in partnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Antwerp and UCLouvain, and funded through the World Bank's Innovation Challenge on Jobs & Migration.
The study is the first of its kind to rigorously evaluate the impact of labour mobility as a complementary pathway for refugees, comparing the outcomes of candidates who received a skilled-worker visa with those of candidates considered in the same selection process but not ultimately successful. Researchers combined surveys with over 1,100 responses and qualitative interviews with more than 200 refugees, family members, employers, partner organizations and government stakeholders across Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, Italy and the United Kingdom. Key findings include:
Relocation through a skilled-worker visa more than triples individual wage income and substantially lifts overall household income, and increases the likelihood that a candidate's spouse enters paid work.
Candidates report feeling significantly safer, more respected and more socially integrated after relocating, and their children are significantly less likely to report worry or nervousness.
Nearly half of surveyed candidates hold a university degree, yet fewer than a third work at that skill level in their country of asylum, and 40% are entirely unemployed, a mismatch that is the primary driver of the desire to migrate.
Vulnerability and talent are not mutually exclusive: many highly vulnerable refugees also hold real skills and qualifications, challenging narratives that treat "displaced talent" and "vulnerable refugee" as separate categories.
"This research gives us something we've long believed but could not yet prove at this level of rigour: refugee labour mobility does not just change individual lives, it transforms them, and through remittances sent home, also ripples out to children and family members living in displacement. We're grateful to the World Bank, Oxford, Antwerp and UCLouvain for building this evidence base with us." — Sorcha O'Callaghan, CEO, Talent Beyond Boundaries
Skilled migration systems have historically overlooked refugees, even as countries face persistent labour shortages in exactly the sectors where displaced professionals are qualified to work. This research was designed to test whether removing the barriers between refugee talent and these systems delivers real, measurable change, and to give governments and employers rigorous evidence on which to build future policy. Based on those findings, TBB is calling for refugee labour mobility to be embedded as a permanent, additional feature of migration systems, alongside secure routes to residency, grace periods between jobs, and sustainable financing shared between government, employers and civil society.
About the research
Skilled-Worker Visas for Refugee Talents: An Impact Evaluation was authored by Marina Brizar (TBB), Jean-François Maystadt, Nour Moussa, Nada Rostom, Jade Siu, Olivier Sterck and Sarah Walder (TBB), in partnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Antwerp and UCLouvain. The study was funded by the World Bank's Innovation Challenge on Jobs & Migration, which supports evidence-building around solutions that maximise the economic and employment benefits of safe, orderly and regular migration. The methodology was pre-registered with the 3ie Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations.
The full research paper is available here.
About Talent Beyond Boundaries
Talent Beyond Boundaries is building a world where displaced people can safely migrate for work and fully realise their skills to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose. Founded in 2016, TBB was the first organisation in the world to focus on refugee labour mobility as a complementary pathway to traditional humanitarian resettlement. TBB's Talent Catalog, a world-first database, connects skilled displaced professionals with employers in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and the US who need their skills.