Migration Policy Framework Research Articles (Page 1)

ABSTRACT While some (progressive) cities have been proactive in forced migrants' reception and integration policy formulation, the central state is ultimately the chief architect of migration policy and the legal framework. Legal status considerably shapes all facets of forced migrants' lifeworlds and thus has significant implications for policy and integration. The Italian government has recently made significant changes to its migration system, affecting asylum‐seekers and refugees' legal status and subsequent city‐level integration efforts. This article thus investigates the interplay between asylum‐seekers' legal status, national migration policy framework and local integration programme. Employing the concept of legal uncertainty and qualitative exploration of a local integration project in Bergamo, it problematises the state's institutional production of uncertain and precarious migration status and how this shapes the prospects of asylum‐seekers' integration processes. It is shown that the city's efforts to integrate asylum‐seekers, starting from their arrival, are stifled by the national migration legal framework.

This article focuses on developing scientifically grounded approaches to enhance Ukraine's migration policy framework, fostering a secure environment, and supporting national recovery. The primary aim is to construct scenario-based projections of the EU migration crisis caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.To achieve this, a multi-stage research design was applied, centered on scenario analysis using the Shell matrix approach. The first stage analyzed migration flows triggered by the invasion, examining their scale, trajectory, and implications for both Ukraine and the EU. It also explored migrants’ return intentions and the emotional and socio-economic factors influencing them.The second stage identified key drivers of migration since the onset of the war and used these findings to build a matrix model of influencing factors. The third stage addressed critical uncertainties—unpredictable but pivotal elements shaping Ukraine’s security landscape—forming a basis for scenario planning.In the fourth stage, three core migration scenarios were developed—optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic—mapped along two axes: the war's duration/outcome and the EU's integration stance toward Ukraine. The fifth stage involved expert evaluation of each scenario's feasibility and the level of consensus regarding its plausibility.The final stage led to the formulation of a conceptual legal framework through the proposed "Soft Return" state program. This program introduces legal tools for integrating migration policy into Ukraine's national security agenda, with a focus on facilitating the return of human capital. It includes provisions for legislative support, diaspora engagement mechanisms, and instruments for remote civic and economic participation, such as e-residency and digital platforms.By aligning legal reform with strategic foresight, the study presents a forward-looking model for migration governance under wartime conditions.

The article delves into to the review of the activities of the Institute of Migration Policy of the European Union – Frontex agency. This agency has been under consideration since its creation in 2005, taking into account the transformation of its powers and the expansion of its business practices. The author emphasizes that the con-text of the institute’s development is superimposed on the deterioration of the migration situation in the EU, and the expansion of the scope of its activities becomes a consequence of the development of the migration crisis. In response to current challenges, Frontex was granted additional powers in 2015, including the authority to conduct special operations for migration control and to organize the registration, detention, and expulsion of migrants. However, the agency’s practices post-2015 have faced significant criticism for both their low effec-tiveness and their infringement on human rights. Given that Frontex is a key institution in the EU’s migration policy framework, the assessment of its performance, based on statistical data related to the current migration crisis, reveals a troubling lack of effectiveness. This analysis underscores the urgent need for further transfor-mation of European migration policy to address the ongoing challenges effectively. The findings presented in this article contribute to the discourse surrounding the efficacy of Frontex and the broader implications for mi-gration governance within the European Union.

This article presents an in-depth comparative analysis of the migration policies of the European Union and Ukraine. The study aims to identify and examine the similarities and differences between these two migration systems, considering their underlying objectives, legal frameworks, and approaches to managing migration flows. By analyzing various aspects of migration policies, including labor migration, combating of illegal migration, as well as international protection systems, such as asylum, subsidiary and temporary protection, the article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the different strategies employed by the EU and Ukraine in managing migration. The analysis begins by discussing the drivers of migration in both EU and Ukraine, highlighting the diverse dynamics and complexities that have shaped their migration policies. It explores the EU’s migration policy framework, encompassing the common asylum system. Similarly, it delves into Ukraine’s migration policy framework, emphasizing its legal framework and analizing policies towards beneficiaries of temporary protection and cooperation with EU in this sphere. Through a comparative lens, the article evaluates various dimensions of migration policies in the EU and Ukraine. Firstly, it examines the policy objectives in EU and Ukraine, assessing how they align with broader socio-economic, security, and demographic considerations. Secondly, the article examines the legislative framework and analyzes the legislative instruments that regulate migration in both the EU and Ukraine. It also emphasizes the compatibility of supranational EU legislation with the legal system of Ukraine, which is extremely important given Ukraine’s status as a candidate for accession to the EU. Finally, the article identifies areas of convergence and divergence between the migration policies of the EU and Ukraine and reflects on their implications for both regions. It recognizes the challenges and limitations faced by each system. The analysis aims to provide insights for policymakers in the EU and Ukraine to enhance their migration management strategies and foster greater collaboration in addressing the complexities of migration. Overall, this comparative analysis of EU and Ukrainian migration policies contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the various dimensions of migration management, offering a foundation for further research, policy development, and collaboration between the EU and Ukraine.

The African Union is a regional organisation established and mandated to accelerate African regional integration. However, migration remains one of the challenges for African regional integration. African states have been experiencing a high number of migrations, making it worth looking for a solution. The African Union has a migration policy framework, but the problem persists. This paper reviews the AU's migration policy framework and its challenges and provides insights into ways to enhance its implementation. To this end, the author reviewed different conventions adopted by the AU and secondary data.

The purpose of the paper is to discuss recent immigration trends, and the policies that have been adopted by the state to facilitate the process of the integration of immigrants and their access to the labour market. The first part of the paper discusses theoretical aspects of migration, and labour migration in particular. The second part of the paper is aimed at disclosing current immigration trends among third-country nationals in Lithuania. Labour migration and the migration policy framework in Lithuania are analysed, as are integration policies. The research results reveal that Lithuania lacks an effective migrant integration policy. The evaluation of the migration policy index allows us to conclude that the policy of the integration of immigrants is the area of migration policy that needs to be improved the most in Lithuania. Lithuania’s score is lower than the average MIPEX country score, and together with Latvia it is one of the lowest in Central and East European countries. Lithuania’s approach to integration is classified by MIPEX as equality on paper. While immigrants enjoy basic rights and protection in Lithuania, they do not enjoy equal opportunities to participate in society.

Expert Commissions on Migration Policy Framework in Germany

International labor migration is the unique reality of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. Despite seemingly open migration policies and reforms, the GCC states recently engaged in international and domestic policies to manage the migrant population better. Considering the dependency of Gulf states on migrant labor and the constant increase in migration to these states, this article aims to understand the policies pertaining to the presence, conditions of residence, integration, and socioeconomic rights of the migrant labor force. After an overview of migration trends and patterns in the GCC states, the article examines the migration policy framework that regulates and governs migration in the GCC. It also highlights the recent reforms and initiatives taken by the GCC states and a few sending countries which have impacted the migration flows, migrant rights, and development benefits of migration. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion on policy challenges and provides recommendations as a way forward.

In this article, the prospects of the implementation of the new State migration policy framework of the Russian Federation for 2019-2025 as applied to student migrants are analyzed. We have studied the educational process for foreign students at all levels of higher education as a part of education-related (study-related) migration. We have defined the following three aspects: social, cultural, and legal as equivalent factors of adaptation and socialization for foreign students. We highlight that apart from the basic learning competencies, it is crucial to develop skills for communicating in the language of the host country while acknowledging the basic values of the social and cultural realia that are new for foreign students. The teacher has a significant role in the organization of the education process for foreign students. We have studied the stages of students’ adaptation and integration into the new sociocultural and academic environment. The hypothesis is that it is crucial to learn and take into account national and psychological characteristics of student migrants from around the world. We provide examples based on the research results of the adaptation analysisof Volgograd State Technical University foreign students. We also provide recommendations for the organization of the education process and communication with foreign students.

In Australia, the transfer of asylum seekers to Nauru for ‘processing’ and the harm experienced by refugees in this context has been analysed from various perspectives, including criticisms that this is a form of torture. However, the harm experienced by refugees seeking asylum has not been considered through a southern disability theory (SDT) lens. Whilst SDT has been employed to examine various contexts, the framework has not explicitly been used to discuss the production of impairment in Nauru. Our application of this framework in this context highlights the Global North and Global South inequalities operating on the bodies of those refugees seeking asylum who are initially obstructed from entry into Australia. SDT also highlights some Global North framings that do not include the production of impairment in theorising disabling conditions. This obscures the power relations underpinning the policies generating harm to those in Nauru; however, SDT makes these power relations central, thus providing a better framework for appreciating what is occurring in Nauru and the ongoing refugee transition undertaken to ‘claim’ asylum in Australia.

L’intégration des immigrés est au cœur des préoccupations politiques dans plusieurs pays. Cet article commence par présenter que, dans la plupart des pays européens, les immigrés sont considérablement défavorisés sur le marché du travail par rapport aux natifs. Puis il s’interroge sur la façon dont les politiques publiques peuvent affecter l’intégration des immigrés. Premièrement, nous passons en revue la littérature sur l’efficacité des cours de langue et d’introduction. Ensuite nous cherchons à savoir comment différents aspects du cadre de la politique migratoire peuvent déterminer les modes d’intégration des immigrés. En particulier, nous nous appuyons sur une revue de la littérature récente pour souligner le rôle de la durée du visa et de la prévisibilité de la durée de la migration dans la décision des migrants d’investir dans le capital humain et social propre au pays d’accueil. En outre, nous discutons des implications pour la migration de réfugiés et nous nous intéressons au rôle des règles d’acquisition de la nationalité. L’article s’achève par un aperçu des conséquences pour les pays d’origine. Codes JEL : F22, J15, J61.

Ecuador is a highly interesting context to explore the dynamics between migration and return. Since the election of president Rafael Correa, a new migration policy framework has been established. A lot of attention is paid to returnees and their potential contribution to the nation’s development. Official assessments of these measures, however, are lacking. This article provides a general insight into the experiences and obstacles with which return entrepreneurs are confronted in this region. Fieldwork was conducted in the Ecuadorian provinces of Azuay and Cañar. The stereotypical idea of ‘migrants coming back with a lot of money’, does not seem to correspond with reality. Abroad, these migrants find themselves in a weak socio-economic position and experience difficulties to collect financial, human as well as social capital. The economic activities they engage in upon return, can often be perceived as forms of necessity entrepreneurship. The government measures, such as loans provided by the Banca del Migrante and the service delivery at the Secretaria Nacional del Migrante, are evaluated rather negatively. Hence, we propose a number of policy improvements such as the conditionality of financial support and the provision of technical assistance before and during the initiation of the returnees’ entrepreneurial activities.

Integration of immigrants is at the forefront of policy concerns in many countries. This paper starts by documenting that in most European countries immigrants face significant labour market disadvantages relative to natives. Then it discusses how public policies may affect immigrants’ integration. First, we review the evidence on the effectiveness of language and introduction courses. Then, we discuss how different aspects of the migration policy framework may determine immigrants’ integration patterns. In particular, based on a review of the recent literature, we highlight the role of visa length and of predictability about migration duration in shaping migrants’ decisions on investments in country-specific human and social capital. Further, we discuss implications for refugee migration and also review the role of citizenship acquisition rules. The paper ends with an outlook of the consequences for sending countries.

This paper examines South Africa’s migration policy framework development and the initiatives undertaken on the basis of the commitments to the Abuja Treaty and successive African Union (AU) frameworks regarding the free movement of people in the region. As such the paper outlines South Africa’s compliance and contentions with the notion of free movement of people and how it tries to balance the dual roles of meeting the needs of its previously disadvantaged population at the same time as complying with principles of regional integration, which are important to its foreign policy. As will be shown in the paper, among other things, the country has been faced with implementation challenges in the enforcement of its migration policies to such an extent that non-state actors, such as communities, have resorted to violence against migrants due to perceptions that there has been an uncontrolled ‘influx’ of migrants resulting from lax law enforcement.

After the arrival of the first labour migrants in Germany in the 1960s, a gradual change in the perception of migrants in German politics took place: from guests ( Gastarbeiter) and foreigners ( Ausländer) to citizens as members of a new form of ‘us’ that is constructed within diversity. These transformations were reflected in Germany’s migration-related policies throughout recent history. This article focuses on media-related policies for cultural integration, which go hand in hand with the developments in the general migration policy framework, analysing different phases after the 1960s. In general, we observe an increasing institutionalization of integration policies, a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the media for integration purposes and a diversification of measures, even more rapidly after the enactment of the Immigration Act in 2004. Cultural diversity is now emphasized as an enriching factor for the German mediascape. However, there continues to be a need for long-term policies in order to improve media diversity in practice.

Excessive ‘brain drain’ or emigration of highly skilled individuals is considered as an important negative factor for the intellectual, academic, labor productivity of any given country. This general observation is also pertinent in the case of Turkey, which is a net exporter of skilled migrants, although the latter point is overlooked in the debate about international migration flows involving Turkey. Based on on-site observation and analysis among different groups of highly skilled from Turkey in the United State as well as returnees and those in the country of origin who intend to go abroad in the near future, this paper aims to fill in the void in available literature concerning the dynamics of ‘brain drain’ from Turkey to the U.S., the key recipient of Turkish professionals, scientists, as well as graduate and post-graduate students, a significant number of which tend not to return. The premise of this paper is not that all export of skilled individuals is inherently negative. Instead, it argues in favor of a migration policy framework for the highly skilled that could produce balance between ‘brain drain’ and ‘brain gain’.