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This working paper analyses EU policies, legal categories, rights and the options for and limits to returning irregular migrants. It includes the analysis of EU legal and policy frameworks on irregular migration, including their nexus with other policy areas (such as asylum, labour migration, and trafficking). It examines EU policies that are deemed to prevent irregular migration, but in fact create pathways into irregularity, and it describes EU legal options for pathways out of irregularity.

Based on 20 countries across Europe, North America and North Africa, this report synthesises key trends and patterns of national policy approaches towards migrant irregularity, highlighting commonalities and differences across various contexts. In particular, it examines three key research questions: how have irregular migration policies evolved over time and in response to what; what pathways into and out of irregularity have these policies produced or aimed to address; and what challenges have hindered policy implementation. In doing so, the report aims to contextualise irregular migration policy changes, as well as how such policies can channel migrants into or out of irregularity.

The Vienna Migration Conference 2023 (VMC2023) brought together international leaders, practitioners, and experts at the Palais Niederoesterreich on 10-11 October 2023, for two days of discussions on critical current and future issues in migration governance in Europe and beyond.

Die vorliegende Sonderauswertung beleuchtet die Situation der Arbeitsmarktintegration von Geflüchteten aus den Herkunftsländern Syrien, Afghanistan, Irak und Iran in Vorarlberg. Insgesamt nahmen im Zeitraum von 2018 bis 2022 in Vorarlberg 440 Personen an der FIMAS-Befragung teil – per Online-Fragebogen sowie durch telefonische Befragung. Ein Teil der Befragten nahm an mehreren Wellen teil – insgesamt umfasst die Vorarlberg-Stichprobe dadurch 512 Befragungsdatensätze – von Geflüchteten unterschiedlicher Herkunft, Geschlecht und Alters, und zu unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten ihrer jeweiligen Integrationsverläufe.

This publication provides a regional perspective to ICMPD’s Migration Outlook 2024, delving into key current and emerging migration trends in the Mediterranean region, with a focus on North Africa and the Middle East.

The results of PARIM-II project, which are discussed in this report, draw not only from extensive qualitative and quantitative research conducted in the field between August 2023 and January 2024, but also from the previous project (PARIM-I), which looked instead at the migration intentions and information needs of Pakistani nationals wishing to migrate out of the country, including through irregular channels.1 By outlining the results of the current project and combining them with the previous one, this report aims at bringing together, analysing, and discussing the entire research component in a targeted way, providing insights for the potential information campaigns and communication strategies in this area. 

As part of the Awareness Raising and Information Campaigns on the Risks of Irregular Migration in Pakistan – II (PARIM-II) project, this report explores the role of returnees in migration decision-making processes and investigates their potential engagement in the design and implementation of migration information and awareness raising campaigns.

The Regional Migration Outlook for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) presents an analysis of the key events and trends that shaped migration in the EECA region in 2023. Simultaneously, it offers a cautious outlook into areas and issues that may affect migration and mobility to, within and from EECA in 2024. In a non-exhaustive way, the publication addresses developments in the twelve EECA countries (based on ICMPD’s regional division) – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The analysis is based on ICMPD’s regional expertise and desk research from official and public data sources.

This work was designed to shed light on past and current dynamics that influence international migration (from and within the region), gather the perspectives and analyse the narratives of Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) in an attempt to understand the reasons that underpin the mobility of unaccompanied and separated children from and within the region, also with a view to provide recommendations on how to better provide for their specific needs in different contexts. The study placed a special emphasis on 3 selected countries in the MENA region (Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon) while valuable information and data gathered in 2 European Union (EU) countries, Greece and Spain, were also used.

The Ukrainian diaspora emerged as a crucial and proactive force in responding to the crisis following the Russian military attack on Ukraine in February 2022, playing a pivotal role in various aspects of humanitarian aid and support efforts. The Ukrainian diaspora was quick and efficient, mobilising resources, both financial and organisational, to provide immediate assistance to Ukrainian refugees who sought shelter in different parts of the world, particularly in European countries. Through establishing numerous organisations and collaborations with international entities, the diaspora engaged in activities such as humanitarian aid, legal assistance, healthcare provisions, educational support and social integration initiatives for displaced Ukrainians. The report on the Role of Ukrainian Diaspora in Crisis Response, Future Return and Reconstruction of Ukraine: Case Study from Germany, Czech Republic and Poland aims to analyse the activities of Ukrainian diaspora organisations and migrant communities in the three destination countries as well as demonstrate the diaspora’s role as a cornerstone for shaping a hopeful and prosperous future for Ukraine. The report was completed by Dr. Valeria Lazarenko (PhD) and edited by the project implementation team. 

Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes have emerged as a migration governance tool used by many national governments and supranational organisations in the 21st century. They fund—typically irregular or stranded—migrants to return to their origin countries whereafter they provide support aimed at “sustainable reintegration”. AVRR reintegration support is classified by the International Organization for Migration, which administers around 95% of AVRR programmes globally, as “economic”, “social”, and “psycho-social”. However, AVRR programmes have received several criticisms from academics and activists. The academic literature on measuring reintegration, identifying the causes of reintegration success, and identifying the causes of AVRR participation are nascent but provide a basis by which policymakers can understand how to improve AVRR outcomes. Therefore, this study identifies how communication can contribute to AVRR objectives.

This report set out to unpack dynamics and characteristics of diaspora engagement policies in the MENA region, drawing on an in-depth review of six countries’ frameworks and Gamlen’s typology of diaspora engagement policies.