EMN Informs

The joint EMN – OECD Inform deals with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on remittances. The Inform identifies 3 main drivers impacting remittances: (a) the economic driver, (b) the migration driver, and (c) the disruptions affecting provision of services. It also examines the impact of pandemic on remittance flows thus far and foresees future projections. It outlines policy recommendations at the international level in order to maintain the flow of remittances and provides examples of measures taken at the EU and OECD level. 

This EU and OECD Inform examines whether foreign workers employed in certain sectors were exempted from restrictions adopted at the external and internal boarders of the EU and OECD countries. It also reviews measures implemented as a response to the COVID-19 crisis at the national level to facilitate the entry of foreigners into the territory of a Member State and their access to the labour market. The Inform also analyses the impact of the pandemic on the third-country nationals already residing in the EU and OECD countries as well as the undocumented migrants in the EU who have been offered a possibility to regularize their status for employment. Finally, given the importance of agriculture, the Inform focuses on the measures adopted for seasonal workers in this sector.

The Inform focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international students in the EU and OECD Member States in the period between February and June 2020. While the long-term consequences are difficult to predict, the immediate impacts are already visible, for example, when processing new applications or renewal of residence or when loosing income from part-time jobs. The Inform analyses the measures taken in relation to the admission and stay of international students in the EU and OECD countries. It also looks at the financial impact on international students already residing in the EU and OECD countries. One chapter is dedicated to the measures to address the impact of COVID-19 on international students who graduated in 2019 and 2020.

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.

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.

In order to contribute to the assessment of the implementation of the Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents (LTR), the EMN Luxembourg collected information through the EMN Ad-Hoc Query mechanism about the state of play across the EU Member States. The information was subsequently processed in the EMN inform which concerns the following topics: the exclusion clause, the duration of residence and periods of absence from the Member State, the conditions for acquiring and the loss of the LTR status, the rights attached to the LTR status, the conditions for residence and work in another Member State (intra-EU mobility) as well as the information and communication activities by Member States on the LTR status.

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.

Inform looked into outreach and information activities, which are distinct from but closely interlinked to return counselling. Besides state actors, a broad range of non-state actors, such as civil society organisations, health and education services and international organisations, were involved in information dissemination. The research found that 19 countries and IOM implemented information campaigns between 2010 and 2019. Outreach activities were found to be more successful when the dissemination tools used were varied, targeting mainstream as well as highly specific communications channels, the timing was carefully considered and when made available in non-national languages.  The research found that Member States had made specific efforts to reach out to vulnerable groups, such as minors and suspected victims of trafficking in human beings.

The Inform offers the analysis of the policy and operational support available to return counsellors to assist them in their role to provide migrants with timely, unbiased and reliable information on return. It found that there were no national legal or policy frameworks in place to ensure a standardized approach for return counsellors’ minimum qualifications and training requirements; however, minimum standards were upheld by relying on well-established practices or, in some cases, guidance and expertise provided by IOM. Professional support typically included initial training, refresher courses, handbooks, guidelines and helplines. In some cases, counsellor monitoring practices were also in place. One of the main challenges identified was the limited personal support available to help councilors to deal with aspects of the work that could be difficult and emotionally draining.