Reconceptualising Employer Immigration Liability in the Platform Economy
Abstract
The expansion of the platform economy has transformed labour markets while exposing structural weaknesses in traditional frameworks of employer immigration liability. Digital labour platforms, characterised by algorithmic management, flexible work arrangements, and the widespread classification of workers as independent contractors, increasingly engage migrant labour across multiple jurisdictions. These features challenge core assumptions underpinning immigration compliance regimes, particularly those concerning employer responsibility for work authorisation, monitoring, and enforcement. This review paper examines how employer immigration liability operates within the platform economy, drawing on legal scholarship, policy reports, and comparative regulatory developments in the United States, the European Union, and selected common-law jurisdictions. It analyses the implications of worker misclassification, enforcement fragmentation, and cross-border digital work for immigration control and migrant worker protection. The paper argues that existing liability models, rooted in conventional employment relationships, are ill-suited to platform-mediated labour. It further contends that effective regulation requires a reconceptualisation of employer responsibility based on functional control rather than formal contractual status. By situating immigration liability within broader debates on platform governance and labour precarity, this paper contributes to emerging discussions on how immigration law must adapt to the realities of digital labour markets.
How to Cite This Article
Oghenehoro Evi Eni (2026). Reconceptualising Employer Immigration Liability in the Platform Economy . International Journal of Judicial Law (IJJL), 5(4), 08-15.