REGULARISATION
Ireland: new regularisation programme to start in January 2022
The Irish government has announced the launch of a broad regularisation programme which will run from January 2022 for six months. The scheme will help regularise people who have lived in Ireland irregularly for the past four years or more, or three years or more if they have children living with them in Ireland. People with a deportation order and those with an expired student visa will also be eligible, if they meet criteria. The scheme is also extended to asylum seekers whose asylum procedure has been pending for at least two years.
Malta: migrants call for decent regularisation mechanism
In October, hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Valletta, Malta, to call on the government to uphold the rights of migrants and to adopt fair regularisation measures. At the centre of the protests are the country’s policies on work and residence permits, which result in the impossibility of undocumented migrants securing any form of long-lasting status in Malta. In particular, many migrants can get a work permit, work regularly and pay taxes, but get almost no social benefits in return, and no residence permit.
UK halves time for young people to be granted indefinite leave to remain
The British Home Office published a concession allowing young people aged between 18 and 25 who entered the UK as children or were born there, to secure an indefinite leave to remain quicker than before. These young people will be able to access the ‘five-year route’ instead of the ‘ten-year route’. The length of the ten-year route had been widely criticized as disproportionate. The policy change comes after litigation brought by Islington Law Centre and Migrant and Children’s Refugee Legal Unit and campaigning from young migrant activist group We Belong.
Report maps regularisation schemes across OSCE region
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has launched a report mapping regularisation schemes across the OSCE region since 2007. The report identifies key trends and noteworthy practices, including recent examples adopted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report recommends stakeholders to strengthen and clarify legal frameworks, consult with civil society actors, promote good practices, and maintain flexible programmes to address exceptional circumstances.
REGULARISATION
Ireland: new regularisation programme to start in January 2022
The Irish government has announced the launch of a broad regularisation programme which will run from January 2022 for six months. The scheme will help regularise people who have lived in Ireland irregularly for the past four years or more, or three years or more if they have children living with them in Ireland. People with a deportation order and those with an expired student visa will also be eligible, if they meet criteria. The scheme is also extended to asylum seekers whose asylum procedure has been pending for at least two years.
Malta: migrants call for decent regularisation mechanism
In October, hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Valletta, Malta, to call on the government to uphold the rights of migrants and to adopt fair regularisation measures. At the centre of the protests are the country’s policies on work and residence permits, which result in the impossibility of undocumented migrants securing any form of long-lasting status in Malta. In particular, many migrants can get a work permit, work regularly and pay taxes, but get almost no social benefits in return, and no residence permit.
UK halves time for young people to be granted indefinite leave to remain
The British Home Office published a concession allowing young people aged between 18 and 25 who entered the UK as children or were born there, to secure an indefinite leave to remain quicker than before. These young people will be able to access the ‘five-year route’ instead of the ‘ten-year route’. The length of the ten-year route had been widely criticized as disproportionate. The policy change comes after litigation brought by Islington Law Centre and Migrant and Children’s Refugee Legal Unit and campaigning from young migrant activist group We Belong.
Report maps regularisation schemes across OSCE region
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has launched a report mapping regularisation schemes across the OSCE region since 2007. The report identifies key trends and noteworthy practices, including recent examples adopted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report recommends stakeholders to strengthen and clarify legal frameworks, consult with civil society actors, promote good practices, and maintain flexible programmes to address exceptional circumstances.