NEWS:
EMN and OECD Inform on impact of COVID-19 on international students
As a response to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic most EU and OECD countries have closed their national borders. Many universities were also temporarily closed. The international students faced various difficulties related to e.g. admission or enrollment to Higher Education Institutions (HIEs). We invite you to read the new EMN – OECD Inform that maps the impact of the pandemic situation and measures adopted to mitigate the impact on international students in EU and OECD countries.
The main findings of the Inform indicate that some EU and OECD countries modified or adapted their admission processes related to residence permits. Many HEIs also adapted their enrolment and admission procedures. Some countries have issued guidelines to HEIs in order to facilitate international student flows, respecting safety measures in place to combat the pandemic. Many countries introduced temporary measures to mitigate the financial impact that COVID-19 is having on international students, for example by increasing maximum working hours or opening access to national funds.
The Inform makes part of a series of Informs prepared by the EMN and OECD as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the migration area.
New Inform: EU and OECD Member States responses to managing residence permits and migrant unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic
The EMN together with the OECD prepared Inform EU and OECD Member States responses to managing residence permits and migrant unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The key findings of the Inform indicate that vulnerable communities including third-country nationals are being especially affected by the impacts of the pandemic. Many countries have introduced temporary measures with regard to the processing of applications for, and issuance and renewal of, residence permits to prevent legally staying migrants from falling into an irregular situation.
The measures taken include, inter alia, extension of authorisation to stay to migrants who were unable to leave because of the pandemic, facilitated online applications, easing of employment restrictions, and facilitated access to unemployment benefits for migrants. The Inform also explores ways of informing the migrants during the pandemic and provision of health services to irregular migrants.
This document is part of the series of EMN and OECD Informs which deal with measures adopted by EU Member States, Norway and UK in various areas of migration in relation to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
EMN Study on Pathways to citizenship for third-country nationals in the EU
Integration through acquisition of citizenship has become an important topic in many EU Member States in recent years, as the number of new migrants arriving in the EU has increased in recent years. The new EMN Synthesis Report published on this topic shows that citizenship is seen by the EU Member States as either the culmination of the integration process or as facilitating the integration process.
The report provides a comparative overview of recent trends, frameworks and good practices from 24 EU Member States and Norway on the acquisition of citizenship for third-country nationals. It describes how national policies evolved over the past five years in relation to the acquisition of citizenship, what are the criteria and procedures in place, how costly and long is the process, what type of support do Member States provide to third-country nationals wishing to acquire citizenship and how do Member States see the acquisition of citizenship in relation to integration of migrants into a host society. The report also informs on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the processing of applications for citizenship.
The EU report is supported by a shorter Inform and a Flash summarizing main findings, and by infographics. The Study of the Slovak Republic is available in questionnaire format in English and Slovak language version.
New EMN publication: Annual Report on Migration and Asylum in the Slovak Republic in 2019
The report informs about the most significant changes, developments and activities in the field of migration and international protection in Slovakia in 2010. In the Slovak Republic, the report is a unique publication of its kind which annually maps all areas of migration of third-country nationals in the context of EU policies and legislation. The report describes also context of migration and asylum policies development, legal migration, international protection including asylum, unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups, integration, citizenship and situation of stateless persons, border control and management, visa practice, irregular migration including migrant smuggling, countering trafficking in human beings as well as returns and readmissions. In the annex, the report presents selected statistics which are not collected at EU level.
The Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2019, which provides a comprehensive overview of national developments in the EU and Norway you can read here. The EU report is supported by a shorter Inform and a Flash. All publications are available together here.
EMN Study on a comparative overview of national protection statuses in EU and Norway
In the field of asylum, EU legislation requires Member States to harmonise their legislation and practices in line with the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). There are two protection statuses harmonised at European level - refugee status and subsidiary protection, however a variety of national protection statuses exist as well.
The Synthesis Report provides an overview of forms of protection granted by Member States and Norway other than those covered by EU asylum legislation. The study also describes procedures, rights and standards that come with these statuses and their comparison with the EU-harmonised statuses.
The EU report is supported by a shorter Inform and a Flash, summarizing main findings in succinct manner and by infographics. The Study of the Slovak Republic is available in questionnaire format in English and Slovak language version.
EMN Small Scale Meeting on Updating of the Migration Policy of the SR
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Migration Office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic as members of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) in the Slovak Republic organized a small scale meeting on “Updating the Migration Policy of the Slovak Republic Forseen by 2025”.
The aim of the meeting of relevant actors was to discuss the main ideas and chapters of the new migration policy and as a framework policy document, which will be followed up by an action plan.
EMN Inform: How do EU member states treat cases of missing unaccompanied minors?
The phenomenon of unaccompanied migrant children going missing has increasingly been in the focus of public attention in the EU. In the new Inform, the European Migration Network has mapped how cases of unaccompanied children going missing are being treated in the Member States. What policies and procedures are in place to register and follow up on cases of missing children, and how is data on missing children collected in EU Members States, Norway and the UK? The new EMN Inform and shorter Flash offer a comprehensive picture of how the phenomenon is tackled currently in the EU.
EMN Small Scale Meeting on Updating of the Integration Policy of the SR
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (MoLSAF SR) as members of the National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) in the Slovak Republic organized a small scale meeting on "Updating of the Integration Policy of the Slovak Republic aimed at labour market was held on 31 January 2020 in Bratislava.
Soon to come
- EMN studies in 2019: Comparative overview of national protection statuses in the EU and Norway; Migratory Pathways for Start-Ups and Innovative Entrepreneurs in the EU; Pathways to citizenship for third-country nationals in the EU; Third-country nationals with a residence permit who pose a threat to national security: policies and practices in the EU
- EMN studies in 2020: Accurate, timely, interoperable? Data management in the asylum procedure; Attracting and Protecting Seasonal Workers from third countries in the EU; Sustainable solutions for long-term irregularly staying migrants: practices and challenges from EU Member States and Norway; Detention and alternatives to detention
Co-funded by the European Union 
