Publications

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.

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 Annual Report takes stock of the milestones, opportunities and challenges in the past year, along with recurring issues that have surfaced to reshape the migration discourse.

This background report serves as a foundation within the framework of the Migration Information and Awareness Raising on the Risks of Irregular Migration in Iraq (MIRAMI) Project. Building upon existing experiences and collaborations, such as the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) established in Baghdad, the MIRAMI Project aims at increasing awareness of safe and legal migration, reducing irregular migration, and improving reintegration support for returnees through the development of targeted migration information campaigns. The project targets various groups, including potential migrants, returnees, families, female migrants, and influencers like community leaders and media representatives. In doing so, MIRAMI contributes to the Iraqi government's vision of sustainable reintegration for returnees, aligning with national strategies for migration management.

This policy brief examines the migration intentions and informational landscapes of potential Kurdish irregular migrants, emphasising the information gaps and needs, especially about migration pathways and risks. 
 

This report investigates the migration and reintegration experiences of Iraqi returnees, their influence on other people’s decisions about migration, and their potential role in the implementation of migration information campaigns. It does so in the framework of the Migration information and awareness raising on the risks of irregular migration in Iraq (MIRAMI) project, which aims, among other things, at increasing awareness on safe and legal migration and reducing irregular migration from Iraq through changes in perceptions and behaviour of potential migrants as well as of the key influencers of their decisions.

This policy paper explores the potential benefits of expanding mobility opportunities for third-country national youth to EU Member States and presents different options for making this possible. It also presents the potential trade-offs when it comes to programme goals and design and highlights key considerations for those looking to develop and launch new youth mobility schemes.

The regional Silk Routes Migration Outlook zooms in on ICMPD’s global outlook released earlier this year. It takes a closer look at the events that shaped the region and provides an outlook on the possible impact they may have on mobility and migration. The report takes stock of events or policy developments and their ripple effects on displacement across the region’s focus countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. 

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.

New study commissioned by the Migration Partnership Facility highlights the current challenges and opportunities regarding talent attraction and retention policies in the EU and beyond. Featuring examples of national strategies and practices from all over Europe, the research piece provides a comparative snapshot along with 10 action-driven recommendations.

This study aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the research project conducted in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq between October 2023 and February 2024.

This paper aims to advise the Azerbaijani government on better engaging their diaspora. It covers good diaspora engagement practices in general as well as in selected countries. Additionally, it includes lessons learned after the COVID-19 pandemic and presents the kinds of support that can be given to members of the diaspora in times of crisis.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This policy brief aims at understanding the current context for Afghans in the country, examining the policy frameworks that regulate their potential onwards migration to Europe, and discussing policy conclusions for the establishment of safe, orderly, and regular migratory channels and effective policy responses targeting this population.

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.

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 document has been created following the discussions among - and inputs from - participants of the Prague Process Workshop held in Tbilisi in October 2023, highlighting best practices, key success factors and stumbling blocks to digitalising the various aspects of the migration management cycle, as well as providing some recommendations for next steps. The Workshop focused on the increased role of digitalisation, and how this can be deployed to assist in migration management.