Rather than blocking their entry, nations should charge migrants a fee for being taken in, suggest two Swiss economists in a joint opinion piece in Sunday’s NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

In addition to financing the host nation’s infrastructure, the fee would help cover integration measures to help new residents. Economists Margit Osterloh and Bruno S Frey admit that the idea of charging refugees a fee might seem disturbing at first.

“But refugees already spend a lot of money in the hopes of reaching us,” they say, pointing out that the money – CHF9,000 ($8,978) on average for a risky if not dangerous trip – often ends up supporting criminal organisations. On top of that, a fake passport costs CHF2,000-4,000,

So Osterloh and Frey recommend that migrants willing to adhere to the host country’s rules receive safe entry and work permits with immediate effect in exchange for a fee. Those granted asylum would get their money back, and those who ultimately decide to return home would also be able to get some cash back.

Calling it a win-win situation, Osterloh and Frey say that such a system would encourage migrants to work hard to integrate and improve their prospects in the host nations. And the economists note that it should also be a boon to the homelands.

“It’s especially important to us that the homelands benefit. Migrants send a lot of money home – double that of the world’s official development aid. And it’s twice as effective because it’s not lost via bureaucracy and corruption, but instead goes straight to the needy,” write the economists, both of whom have several decades of experience, including teaching at Swiss universities.

SOURCE:   http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/refugee-fee_swiss-economists-suggest-charging-migrants-a-fee/42972790