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MIGRANT FAMILY REUNIFICATION: IOM PROGRAMME SOLUTIONS
PATRICK CORCORANSenior Specialist, Facilitated Migration Services
THE EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK27 NOVEMBER 2017
DUBLIN, IRELAND
I. FAMILY MIGRATION: INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
Definitions Matter
IOM Definition of Family Reunification
• “Process whereby family members already separated through forced or voluntary migration regroup in a country other than the one of their origin. It implies certain degree of State discretion over admission”.
EU Definition of Family Reunification
• “The entry into and residence in a Member State by family members of a third country national residing lawfully in that Member State in order to preserve the family unit, whether the family relationship arose before or after the resident's entry” - Family Reunification Directive, Art.2(d).
Implications • Efforts to better manage family migration can be hindered by a lack of common definitions.
• IOM’s International Dialogue on Migration, 10.2014
• Forum for policy dialogue between countries of origin, transit and destination, civil society, migrants, experts and other stakeholders.
Migrant Family Reunification (FR)
2014
Wor
ksho
p on
M
igra
tion
and
Fam
ilies
265 participants
Governments, International Organizations, NGOs, Private
Sector, Academia
Six key recommendations on Family Migration
IDM Key Findings on Family Migration
1. Implications for the family unit and society require greater consideration from policy makers and researchers.
• Migrants and their families contribute greatly to development of destination and origin countries through human, cultural and economic potential.
• Proper assessment of multifaceted impacts and effects of migration on the family unit requires more studies and research.
• Research and policy debates tend to either focus on individual migrants rather than on the family as a unit, or approach family purely from an economic perspective.
Family Migration: Need for Enhanced Data
2. Family Migration as a Share of all Migration
Source: Eurostat, OECD, IRCC, DIBP, SICREMI 2015
Canada 25%
Australia 32%
United States 72%
EU 38%
South Korea 42%
South Africa 30% New Zealand 35%
Kuwait 21%Singapore 16%
Argentina 42%
Mexico 36%
Bolivia 2%
Ecuador 45%
Uruguay 15%
Brazil 6%
Colombia 8%
Chile 11%
Peru 29%
IDM Key Findings on Family Migration
3. Gaps and challenges prevail in protecting migrants and families.
• Need for greater consideration regarding the protection needs of vulnerability-prone groups such as irregular migrant families.
• Need to better take into account emotional, psychosocial and health factors in assessing the impact migration has on families.
• Need to better respond to growing trend of UAMs and children left behind with a focus on the best interests of the child.
• Need to take better into account the gender perspective.
• Need for greater consideration of the elderly left behind.
IDM Key Findings on Family Migration
4. Well managed and coordinated FR policies strengthen orderly and regular migration and facilitate the integration of migrants into societies, while maximizing the positive impact of migration.
• Urgent need to acknowledge the human significance of family migration, instead of a short-term, statistical and economic-based approach.
• Restrictive regulations and policies act as a barrier to FR, negatively impacting integration and migrant’s contribution to societies. Family separation can have negative effects on migrants’ well-being, their families and ultimately on societies.
• Government policies should be guided by a rights-based and migrant-centered approach to promote the right to Family Reunification and the family unit.
• FR policies concerning young migrants should promote access to employment and opportunities for education.
FR Considerations:
• Significant increase in family migration, especially women and youth.
• Evidence based policies are needed to mitigate the negative implications of increasingly separated families.
• Sustainable results require understanding the position of individuals within the household and factors that contributed to their vulnerability.
• GCM responses could include family tracing and assessment; best interest determinations; family reunification.
FR: Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration 2018
Family Reunion in the MIPEX
The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) measures policies that promote integration in all societies. Family Reunion is one of the eight policy areas covered by MIPEX. http://mipex.eu/family-reunion
• For the small number of transnational families, family reunion policies are one major factor determining whether or not they reunite.
• In most countries, reunited families acquire both a secure residence and basic equal rights. However, policymakers across countries and parties disagree most on how to define the family and what are the conditions necessary for them to reunite.
• Given the current political climate and influence of populist parties, transnational families face an uncertain future in many EU countries.
• Family reunion is increasingly politicized, with policies changed based on electoral promises, not robust evaluations. Policies are mostly restricted based on statistics about the number of applications, not on evidence of their impact on integration.
• Available studies and evaluations suggest that pre-entry tests, high age limits for spouses or high income requirements do not actually promote integration in practice. On the contrary, they impact the most vulnerable groups (elderly, young adults, less educated) and limit the number of reuniting families.
Family Reunion in the MIPEX
II. IOM AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION
Facilitating Migration (FM) in IOM
Migrant-Centric Programming
Rights and needs based, gender and protection-focused FM interventions, contribute to dignified, safe, regular and orderly pathways for migration &
mobility in support of both regular and humanitarian visa and entry schemes to include channels for work, study and family reunification.
• 2013-2017: 103,758 IOM HAs for family reunification (22-25,000 of HAs per year).
• Active TB detection rate: 150 per 100,000 population.
• This represents 6-8% of all HAs.
• Largest FR destination countries: Canada (56% of HAs), USA (28%), Australia (12%).
FR: Migration Health Assessments (HAs)
22531 22129 21351
25378
12369
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Year
Number of health assessments in the IOM family reunification program 2013-2017
• 2013-2017: IOM provided DNA sample collection for 46,745 migrants.
• More than 90% for the purpose of family reunification.
• 35% of samples were collected for the USA; 22% for Australia; 17% for Canada; 10% for the UK.
FR: DNA Sampling
14361
6954
9932
12198
3300
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Num
ber o
f DN
A sa
mpl
es
Year
IOM DNA Sampling, 2013-2017
• Core IOM activity since 1979
• Humane and dignified approach to support migrants who are unwilling or unable to stay in a host or transit country and wish to return to their country of origin.
• Unaccompanied minors are the AVRR beneficiaries with the most need of family reunification assistance
FR: Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR)
2016 AVRR IN NUMBERS
FR: COUNTER-TRAFFICKING
GHANA
IOM assists child victims of trafficking and reunites them with their families.
Since 2002, IOM has managed to rescue, rehabilitate, return, and reintegrate 612 trafficked children who had been working in hazardous conditions in fishing communities along Lake Volta.
IOM activities include awareness-creation, sensitization, andconsensus-building on the issue of child trafficking for labourexploitation in 25 fishing villages around Lake Volta.
IOM assesses the needs of the parents to determine the level of micro-credit assistance needed to care for their children.
Skills training workshops also were organized in order to identify potential ways in which the parents could expand their existing trades or establish small-scale enterprises.
FR: USA T Visa for Trafficking Victims
613 610
750788
694
986
2014 2015 2016
Approved T Visas
TraffickingVictims
FamilyMembers
Four year visa for trafficking victims (T Visa), with the right to work.
Eligibility: Victims of trafficking who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of human traffickers.
Family Reunification:
If the trafficking victim is over 21: Any spouse or children under 21 of the T Visa recipient qualify for reunification.
If under 21: The applicant’s spouse, children and unmarried siblings under age 18 and parents also qualify for reunification.
III. IOM FR PROGRAMME SOLUTIONS –A GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE
Seeking Safety
“When hope disappears, people get up and move…”Ambassador William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General (Visit to Homs, Syria – April 4, 2016)
Refugee Protection – Right to Family Reunification
Source: BAMF
538,869 Syrian Asylum Applications 173,720 Iraqi Asylum Applications
3,435 7,930 12,855
41,100
162,495
268,866
42,188
6,210 5,6754,195
9,495
31,380
97,162
19,603
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 (Jan-Oct)
Snapshot of Asylum Applications in Germany
Syria Iraq
410,167 Granted Refugee Status 200,667 Granted Subsidiary Protection
20,505
101,135
166,520
31,349
3,22061
121,562
51,607
3,246
14,510
36,801
23,271
99 289
10,912 12,917
-20,000
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
2014 2015 2016 2017 (Jan-Oct)
Snapshot of Asylum Decisions in Germany
Syria: Refugee status Syria: Subsidiary Protection Iraq: Refugee status Iraq: Subsidiary Protection
A Surge in Applications for Family Reunification
The challenge in 2016:
• Significant increase in no. of beneficiaries of protection• Significant rise in family reunification applications• Majority of applicants with incomplete files at visa interview• Majority exploited by unscrupulous visa brokers & smugglers• Unofficial fees to visa brokers in the thousands of Euros• Long wait times resulting in unsafe and irregular journeys • Loss of life
Approximate FR wait times in 2016:
• Turkey: 9 months • Beirut: 15 months• Erbil: 24 months
Dignified and Rights Based Support
Migrant Family Reunification: IOM Programme Solutions
Locations and Figures
A Focus on Women’s Needs
A Focus on Children’s Needs
Migrant Family Reunification: IOM Programme Solutions
Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Families
• Gender sensitive, humanitarian outreach in-person including 205,000+ calls made since 06.2016
• Digital visa application form creation, completeness checks, biometrics enrolment, facilitation of document legalization
• Flexible and robust administrative support to German Consular teams
• Close coordination with German Foreign Office, sponsors, representatives, NGOs, UNHCR
• List management, data cleansing, duplicate interview appointment identification, subsidiary protection completeness pre-checks
• Cross-border facilitation, shuttle/bus service; support staff positioned within Consulates
• Fast-track procedures and support for UAM’s, medical and other hardship cases
6068
23391
29,459
16424
64352
80,776
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
2016 2017 TotalFamilies Beneficiaries
29,459 Families Assisted In-Person (80,776 Beneficiaries)
19%
81%
Gender
Male Female
Beneficiary Profiles
3%
37%
29%
19%
12%
Age
Less than 18
Between 19 & 29
Between 30 & 39
Between 40 & 49
Over 50
46%
47%
7%
Family Size
Less than 3 PersonsBetween 3 & 5 PersonsMore than 5 Persons
Community Engagement
In 12 months, over 40,000 likes and an average of 50
feeds per day.
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