EMN Informs

Inform focuses on Member States’ experience with new legal pathways in two areas: partnerships with third countries and schemes of legal migration or labour mobility; and complementary work-related pathways for those in need of international protection.

The Inform maps the approaches of Member States to prevent third-country nationals being separated from their families in three different scenarios: i) when they first come into contact with authorities; ii) during transfers from one facility to another; and iii) during their stay in a Member State. The Inform also reports on how Member States treat the issue of third-country nationals going missing, including existing procedures to report and search for a third-country national reported missing. The Inform considers the situation of third-country nationals who are separated from their families or go missing involuntarily. The issue of unaccompanied minors going missing is not addressed, as it was analysed in another Inform.

The EMN OECD Umbrella Inform provides an update on the series of previous 5 Informs. It adds missing information as of 31 December 2020, summarises and analyses the key findings of the previous editions. It also identifies main challenges and lessons learned resulting from the measures adopted during the pandemic situation. The Inform covers the following areas of migration of the third country nationals: residence permits, entry conditions, unemployment and labour market needs (Chapter 1); international protection (Chapter 2); international students (Chapter 3); voluntary and forced return (Chapter 4). The final chapter presents important changes and innovations in the area of migration that are likely to be of particular focus in the coming years.

The Inform focuses on the changes in policies and measures taken by the EU and OECD Member States in return procedures between March and September 2020. It examines the impact of measures taken in relation to the COVID-19 epidemic on the implementation of returns and issuance of return decisions. It also deals with detention and alternatives to detention as a prevention of absconding. It describes the changes introduced in providing pre-departure counselling and other related services and reintegration in the country of origin. It concentrates also on access to education of minors and access to health care for migrants who were issued a return decision. In the end, the Inform deals with specific measures related to returns implementation (e.g. issuance of travel documents, cooperation with other non-EU countries, etc.).

The joint EMN – OECD Inform deals with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on remittances. The Inform identifies 3 main drivers impacting remittances: (a) the economic driver, (b) the migration driver, and (c) the disruptions affecting provision of services. It also examines the impact of pandemic on remittance flows thus far and foresees future projections. It outlines policy recommendations at the international level in order to maintain the flow of remittances and provides examples of measures taken at the EU and OECD level. 

This EU and OECD Inform examines whether foreign workers employed in certain sectors were exempted from restrictions adopted at the external and internal boarders of the EU and OECD countries. It also reviews measures implemented as a response to the COVID-19 crisis at the national level to facilitate the entry of foreigners into the territory of a Member State and their access to the labour market. The Inform also analyses the impact of the pandemic on the third-country nationals already residing in the EU and OECD countries as well as the undocumented migrants in the EU who have been offered a possibility to regularize their status for employment. Finally, given the importance of agriculture, the Inform focuses on the measures adopted for seasonal workers in this sector.

The Inform focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international students in the EU and OECD Member States in the period between February and June 2020. While the long-term consequences are difficult to predict, the immediate impacts are already visible, for example, when processing new applications or renewal of residence or when loosing income from part-time jobs. The Inform analyses the measures taken in relation to the admission and stay of international students in the EU and OECD countries. It also looks at the financial impact on international students already residing in the EU and OECD countries. One chapter is dedicated to the measures to address the impact of COVID-19 on international students who graduated in 2019 and 2020.

The Inform provides the latest information on the state of play of EU Member States and Norway regarding the  1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness, the processes in place to determine whether a person is ‘stateless’, and if this is the case, what this means for the individual in terms of authorised stay, access to rights and travel documents and the availability of support. Importantly the Inform also provides up to date information on the situation of stateless children.