VisaWatch
Making the global mobility system visible.
VisaWatch is an independent public-interest research and data initiative of SPI that examines how visa and mobility systems operate across countries and over time.
Our Work
Mobility & Migration
Understanding the systems that govern who can move, where and under what conditions.
The international arrivals hall at Cape Town International Airport.
Our focus
International mobility is shaped by a complex architecture of borders, visas, migration rules, labour markets, educational systems and international agreements.
These systems distribute access to opportunity unevenly. They influence who can study, work, conduct research, build businesses, reunite with family or participate in international exchange.
SPI studies mobility as both a field of policy and a system of global governance. Alongside research and analysis, we explore and develop practical approaches to safe, effective and mutually beneficial mobility, including labour pathways that connect skills and opportunity across countries while contributing to broader development goals.
This work includes the mobility of scientists and researchers, whose movement across borders shapes research systems, innovation and international scientific cooperation. Our VisaWatch initiative provides the comparative data and analysis that underpin this work.
Areas of inquiry
- Visa, border and migration governance
- Labour mobility and skills pathways
- Mobility of scientists and researchers
- Education and talent mobility
- Diaspora engagement and development
- Mobility inequality and regional mobility systems
Featured initiative
Related work
Trade, Development & Regional Integration
Labour mobility, skills and migration are closely connected to economic transformation and development.
Africa & Global Affairs
Diaspora communities and internationally mobile professionals can play important roles in institutional and societal change.
Work with us
Collaborate on Mobility & Migration.
SPI welcomes collaboration with researchers, governments, migration institutions and organizations working on visa systems, labour mobility and diaspora engagement.