Migration of Nurses in the EU, the UK, and Japan : Regulatory Bodies and Push-Pull Factors in the International Mobility of Skilled Practitioners

This paper examines the regulatory characteristics of the EU, the UK, and Japan concerning the accepting of nurses from overseas, by focusing on the interests of regulatory bodies and policies to promote or mitigate the impact of push-pull factors on the inflow of nurses. These cases show that verifying qualifications, assessing language skills, and admitting work permits are important, instant, and effective measures through which regulatory bodies can promote or mitigate the impact of push-pull factors on the inflow of nurses into their territories. The EU and the UK studies revealed that further research is required concerning the discrimination which is prohibited under EU law. Compared to Europe, Japan's Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a full-course regulatory arrangement that covers issues ranging from quantitative restriction, refusal of mutual recognition, refusal of verification of qualification valid in other countries, and language proficiency to work permit, due to ambivalent interests in a single regulatory framework.