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Measures taken by the EU and OECD countries to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the employment of foreigners. Decrease of economic activity reduced the demand for work in the sectors where migrants are employed, such as tourism and hospitality sector. On the other hand, as a result of travel restrictions, several countries experienced labour shortages, particularly in seasonal agricultural work. The joint EMN and OECD Inform maps the situation of third-country nationals who planned to enter the EU and the migrants entering non-EU OECD countries aiming to be employed in essential sectors (healthcare, agriculture, etc.) as well as those already residing in the EU and other OECD countries.

The EMN has prepared an overview of the organisation of the system of migration and asylum in the Slovak Republic. The document reviews the institutional framework and responsibilities of the actors active in the area of migration of the third-country nationals in the Slovak Republic. It is available in Slovak and English.

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 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.

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.