Pillar III: Advocating for law and policy changes
© UNHCR/Antoine Tardy
The current migration framework often remains inaccessible to refugees due to inherent obstacles and limitations on both departure and destination sides. An analysis of the existing migration framework is essential and can support the design and implementation of complementary pathways programmes.
Challenges in accessing complementary pathways
When seeking to access complementary pathways, refugees face various challenges along the journey. These can include:
- Legal challenges
- Skills gaps
- Information
- Documentation
- Departure requirements
- Financial challenges
- Visa requirements
- Integration and subsequent support
• Ensuring that international protection needs are retained through the pathway;
• Availability of legal pathways for refugees;
• Ensuring pathways are additional to asylum and resettlement;
• Gaps in education and employment due to flight;
• Access to formal employment in countries of asylum;
• Language capacity and access to language training and certification;
• Access to upskilling and training (soft and professional skills) to qualify;
• Inequity of education and training systems and their incompatibility;
• Confirmation of credentials between countries.
• Access to clear and legitimate information on opportunities and application processes and requirements;
• Limited understanding of employment and education systems and requirements in other countries;
• Limited understanding of procedures for movement/family reunification and subsequent integration;
• Limited understanding of rights and responsibilities during travel and upon arrival;
• Limited understanding of procedures for subsequent legalization and stay.
• Access to documents confirming relationships, credentials and qualifications;
• Availability of identity and travel documents.
• Ability to obtain exit visas and required fees;
• Requirements for police certificates and other documents from country of nationality or current asylum.
• Personal costs for the processing/application/departure/flight/integration;
• Programmatic costs to universities, employers, families, etc.
• Access to bank accounts and financial history;
• Need to provide proof of intention/ability to return to country of origin/current stay;
• Requirement of national passports or other forms of valid travel document.
• Needed support in case of employment/education contract end;
• Clear pathway for regularisation or return to first country of asylum, if desired;
• Support with necessary procedural steps upon arrival for legalisation and subsequent stay arrangements.
Analysing existing migration frameworks
An analysis of the existing migration frameworks is essential to identify gaps and come up with options best suited for refugees and facilitation measures required. Partnerships with migration agencies, legal providers and migration experts are valuable in this area.
UNHCR Rights Mapping and Analysis Platform (RiMAP) provides means to evaluate some of the relevant components and limitations and come up with policy and advocacy messages to influence authorities in making systemic changes to facilitate accessibility and availability of complementary pathways. The following context assessements can also be helpful to this end:
Key steps in design and implementation of complementary pathways
Following the context analysis, UNHCR Operations may consider the following next steps when designing and implementing complementary pathways programming in line with the protection considerations and key principles for complementary pathways:
Identify the most suitable visa options
Migration law firms and other actors including IOM, ILO, and private sector companies can support in identifying the best legal route, required flexibilities, and options for legal stay and/or return to the first country of asylum.
Ensure access to identity and travel documents
Access to refugee travel documents contributes to protection from refoulement. Such documentation also serves as a proof of identity required to access services.
Identify refugee-specific flexibilities
This can be adjusting financial requirements and guarantees (visa fees), documentary requirements, alternative methods of confirmation of work-/study-related credentials, and adopting an alternative approach to relationship verification for family reunification.
Ensure refugee inclusion in local systems
Link up with development and local inclusion initiatives to enable access to training, skilling/upskilling, skills certification, language training and certification. This can include building and improving skilling-to-hire models matching with destination countries’ needs.
Consider partnerships and expansion within the existing migration framework and via bilateral arrangements for training and upskilling of foreign workforce to cover market gaps
Joint programming with UNHCR and IOM for inclusion of refugees in regular pathways/the existing migration system for nationals of host countries can be explored.
Ensure the role of first countries of asylum is understood through advocacy towards inclusion of refugees in national and international training and education frameworks
In addition to responsibility-sharing, countries of first asylum may benefit from remittances and appreciate the widening protection space. Their role is also crucial in a number of ways, including the issuance of travel documents and exit permits.
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