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This working paper is aimed at researchers and others interested in understanding and classifying policy and practical approaches to migrant irregularity. Addressing irregular migration has become an important focus within the migration policy field. Policymakers tend to emphasise the need to address irregular arrivals, yet in fact have a wide range of policy responses at their disposal. MIrreM research has highlighted the wide range of policy responses to the presence of irregular migrants, including how policies provide pathways into and out of irregularity (Hendow et al., 2024); this working paper aims to classify them within a typology. It builds on the existing MIrreM conceptualisation of migrant irregularity (Kraler & Ahrens, 2023), focusing on the intersection between the pathways into and out of irregularity and the stocks of irregular migrants.

The Curriculum was developed based on the Migration Textbook produced within the EU-funded project “Support to the Implementation of the Mobility Partnership with Azerbaijan (MOBILAZE 2)” implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). The Curriculum was designed for the needs of academia as well as beyond, such as the Regional Training Centre on Migration (RTCM) of the State Migration Service in Azerbaijan (SMS) and training centres of related migration authorities and relevant non-state organisations. Its use is intended not only for academia but also for non-academic environments to provide updated information on migration management in Azerbaijan amongst relevant stakeholders.

This report overviews and discusses the key findings from the original research of the EUROMED Migration V programme on migration narratives in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Each report was dedicated to a different facet of migration narratives and each offering an original contribution that can help communicators offer a more balanced set of migration narratives.

Why do some people choose to migrate and some people not? Why are some willing to do so via irregular channels and some unwilling?  Answering these questions allows us to design better interventions to achieve migration policy objectives such as “safe, regular, and orderly migration”. It also helps us answer profound scientific questions using the timeless yet increasingly important case of migration. Given the salience, uncertainty, complexity, risk and novelty of migration—as well as its emotive and valuedriven nature—we can expect narratives to play a powerful and rich role in emigration decisions. This report builds on recent findings and cutting-edge data to investigate the role of narratives in affecting variation in various forms of migration behaviour.

This paper aims to shed light on the different guardianship models and practices that have been developed and implemented within the European Union (EU) for unaccompanied and separated children (UASCs) who have fled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The review draws particularly on the findings of a prior project publication which analysed Poland’s approach to the administration and delivery of guardianship solutions and services for Ukrainian UASCs since 2022.

The present migration textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the migration field, exploring its historical roots, current trends, and future prospects. It covers a wide range of issues from across the migration spectrum, including the causes and consequences of migration, the experiences of migrants, the social and economic impacts of migration on sending and receiving countries, and the policies governing migration.

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.

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.

Temporary protection for people fleeing Ukraine has an end date: March 2025 at the latest. To promote and support a discussion of post-temporary protection strategies at the EU level, ICMPD has published a second discussion paper exploring potential policy options, with a focus on those enabling temporary protection beneficiaries to remain in the EU. It highlights the aspirations of Ukrainians to remain or return, as identified in various surveys; calculates the potential impact of a status change on national asylum and immigration permit systems; looks at potential special statuses for this group; and identifies relevant lessons learned from Brexit. This paper builds on a March 2023 discussion paper, which also aimed to contribute food for thought on ways to exit from temporary protection, which was published under a joint ICMPD-IGC initiative on “Continuation of and exit strategies from temporary protection and similar arrangements.”