Glossary of migration terms

1. As per the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe's guidelines on human rights protection in the context of accelerated asylum procedures of 1 July 2009, the procedure derogates from normally applicable procedural timescales and / or procedural guarantees with a view to expediting decision-making. Procedures whereby a state may declare an application inadmissible without considering the merits of the claim also fall mutatis mutandis within the scope of the guidelines. For more information see the webpage of the Council of Europe.
2. Directive 2013/32/EU (Recast Asylum Procedures Directive) recognises, in Recital 18 of the Preamble and in Art. 31(2) that it is in the interest of both EU Member States and applicants for international protection for decisions to be taken as soon as possible. This Directive does not provide for minimum or maximum time limits for taking a decision on applications for international protection nor does it define the term 'accelerated procedure'. However, Art. 31(2) does make clear that the speed of the asylum procedure may not prejudice 'an adequate and complete examination' of the asylum claim.
3. Accelerated procedures must comply with the basic principles and guarantees laid down in Chapter II of Directive 2013/32/EU (Recast Asylum Procedures Directive) and may be conducted only in limited cases laid down in Art. 31(8) of the Directive.

1. Art. 17 and 18 of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol accord refugees lawfully staying in a host country the right to work and to engage in wage earning employment or self-employment. However, the Convention does not explicitly grant the right to work to asylum-seekers. It also does not prohibit the use of employment restrictions (to specific sectors, or regarding the duration of the work, or the priority for specific categories of persons).
2. In EU Member States, the scope of access to education and vocational training of third-country nationals depends on their residence or employment status.
3. Art. 11(1b) of Council Directive 2003/109/EC (Long Term Residents Directive) ensures that long-term resident third-county nationals enjoy equal treatment with nationals as regards access to education. Pursuant to Art. 11(3b) EU Member States may require proof of appropriate language proficiency for access to education and training. Access to university may be subject to the fulfilment of specific educational prerequisites.
4. Art. 27 of Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive) states that minors granted international protection have full access to the education system under the same conditions as nationals. It also allows adults granted international protection access to the general education system, further training or retraining, under the same conditions as third-country nationals legally resident.
5. Art. 14 of Directive 2013/33/EU (Recast Reception Conditions Directive) provides for minor applicants for international protection access to the education system under similar conditions as nationals for so long as an removal order is not enforced. Such education may be provided in accommodation centres.

1. Art. 17 and 18 of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol accord refugees lawfully staying in a host country the right to work and to engage in wage earning employment or self-employment. However, the Convention does not explicitly grant the right to work to asylum-seekers. It also does not prohibit the use of employment restrictions (to specific sectors, or regarding the duration of the work, or the priority for specific categories of persons.
2. In EU Member States the right to enter the labour market depends on the migrant's legal status.
3. Art. 11 (1a) of Council Directive 2003/109/EC (Long Term Residents Directive) ensures that long-term resident third-country nationals enjoy equal treatment with nationals as regards access to employment and self-employed activity. Pursuant to Art. 11(3a) EU Member States may retain restrictions to access to employment or self-employed activities in cases where, in accordance with existing national or Community legislation, these activities are reserved to nationals, EU or EEA citizens.
4. Art. 26 of Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive) ensures that beneficiaries of international protection have access to the labour market under equivalent conditions as nationals, immediately after protection has been granted as well as access to employment-related education opportunities for adults, vocational training, including training courses for upgrading skills, practical workplace experience and counselling services afforded by employment offices.
5. Art. 15 of Directive 2013/33/EU (Recast Reception Conditions Directive) provides that applicants for international protection have access to the labour market no later than 9 months from the date when the application for international protection was lodged, if a first instance decision by the competent authority has not been taken and the delay cannot be attributed to the applicant. EU Member States can decide the conditions for granting access to the labour market in accordance with their national law. For reasons of labour market policies, they may give priority to Union citizens, EEA nationals and to legally resident third-country nationals .

1. In EU Member States, the scope of healthcare to which a third-country national has access depends on their residence or employment status. For further information see EMN: Migrants access to social security and healthcare: policies and practice, 2014.
2. According to Council Directive 2003/109/EC (Long Term Residents Directive), long-term residents enjoy the same access to healthcare as nationals as defined by national law.
3. Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive) grants access to adequate healthcare, including treatment of mental disorders when needed, to beneficiaries of international protection under the same eligibility conditions as nationals of the EU Member State that has granted such protection.
4. Directive 2013/33/EU (Recast Reception Conditions Directive) establishes minimum standards for access to healthcare for applicants of international protection during the asylum procedure. It requires EU Member States to ensure that asylum seekers at least receive emergency care and essential treatment for illnesses and serious mental disorders. However, the entitlement of asylum seekers to healthcare services depends on national legislation and varies among Member States. See for example, the EMN: Ad-Hoc Query on System of medical treatment of asylum seekers in Member States.
5. Access to healthcare can be a key factor in the process of decision-making on applications for international protection. Subsidiary protection may apply if the asylum-seeker contends that a return to the country of origin is impossible for health reasons, as the return of a sick person which is often connected with the medical standards in the country of return could constitute a breach of Art. 3 ECHR. Thus case workers have to take into account whether medical treatment is available in the country of origin and whether the available medical treatment would also be (e.g. financially) accessible to the concerned person upon return. For further information see the description of the MedCOI project in the List of projects funded by the European Refugee Fund in 2011.

1. Art. VII of the LisbonRecognition Convention (LRC) requires States to take reasonable steps and develop feasible procedures within the framework of their education system and in conformity with their constitutional, legal, and regulatory provisions to determine whether refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation fulfil the relevant requirements for access to higher education, to further higher education programmes or to employment activities, even in cases in which the qualifications obtained in one of the Parties cannot be proven through documentary evidence.
2. Under EU legislation certain third-country nationals enjoy equal treatment with nationals as regards recognition of professional diplomas, certificates and other qualifications, in accordance with the relevant national procedures: family members of EU citizens according to Art. 24 of Council Directive 2004/38/EC (Free Movement Directive), long term residents according to Art. 11(1c) of Council Directive 2003/109/EC (Long Term Residents Directive), beneficiaries of international protection according to Art. 28 (1) of Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive), EU Blue Card holders according to Art. 14(d) of Directive 2009/50/EC (Blue Card Directive) as well as students, researchers and school pupils according to Art. 22(4) of Directive 2016/801/EU (Recast Students' Directive).

1. The terms social protection, social security and social assistance are not defined by EU law and are often understood similarly. However, social protection is generally considered as an overarching concept encompassing 'all public and private initiatives that provide income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect the vulnerable against livelihood risks, and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalised with the overall objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups', see IATE entry of social protection.
2. Social security and social assistances are narrower concepts. IATE defines social security as a 'system of pensions and benefits provided through the welfare system, designed to give some kind of security against exigencies such as unemployment, invalidity, and old age', see IATE entry of social security . Social assistance is defined in IATE as 'range of benefits and services provided to the population at large, or segments of the population, under schemes funded by general government which are commonly based on a test of resources and do not require direct contributions by, or on behalf of, potential beneficiaries.It should not be confused with social security or social insurance which are based on contributions, see IATE entry of social assistance.
3. The Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol ensures that recognised refugees are entitled to benefit from the national social welfare schemes enjoyed by nationals. Refugees are gradually awarded access to social security benefits, taking into account the duration of their residence and their integration into the host society.
4. In the EU the level of social benefits and rights depends on the legal status of third-country nationals.
5. Art.11(1d) of Council Directive 2003/109/EC (Long Term Resident Directive) and Art. 29 of Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive) guarantee that long-term residents and beneficiaries of international protection enjoy equal treatment with nationals as regards social protection, social security and social assistance as defined by national law. EU Member States may limit social assistance granted to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection status to core benefits which will then be provided at the same level and under the same eligibility conditions as nationals.
6. For more information see: EMN Inform: Social benefits and rights for beneficiaries of international protection, 2018.

1. The word "effective" is key in this definition and encompasses that applicants are ensured the possibility to cooperate and communicate with the competent authorities in a proper and adequate manner.
2. Applicants should be able to present the relevant facts of their case and ensured sufficient procedural guarantees in all stages of the procedure.

1. Such places include decentralised accommodation centres.
2. In FI, the preferred English translation is 'reception centre'.
3. For more information on categories of reception facilities available in EU Member States, see EMN: The Organisation of Reception Facilities for Asylum Seekers in different Member States, 2014.

1. The term 'accompanied child' is not explicitly defined in the Union acquis. However, EU legislation defines the term 'unaccompanied minor' in Art.2 (I) of Directive 2011/95 EU (Recast Qualification Directive).
2. The terms child and minor are used interchangeably. However, the term minor is normally used only in a legal context when referring to a person who has not reached the age of majority as defined in national legislation.
3. The term and definition of 'accompanied child' was developed by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) a contrario of the term 'unaccompanied minor' based on the Union asylum acquis. The EMN decided to follow this approach as this term focuses on the relationship.
4. For further information see: EMN: Inform Accompanied children's right to be heard in international protection procedures, April 2023.

1. Art. 3(d) of Regulation (EC) No. 862/2007 (Migration Statistics Regulation) refers or relates to the acquisition of citizenship to those persons having their usual residence in the territory of the EU Member State and having acquired during the reference year the citizenship of the EU Member State and having formerly held the citizenship of another EU Member State or a third country or having formerly been a stateless person.
2. One of the possible ways of acquiring citizenship is through naturalisation, which refers more to the decision / administrative process by the relevant authorities for the granting of nationality.

According to Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive), acts of persecution can, inter alia, take the form of: a) acts of physical or mental violence, including acts of sexual violence; b) legal, administrative, police, and/or judicial measures which are in themselves discriminatory or which are implemented in a discriminatory manner; c) prosecution or punishment which is disproportionate or discriminatory; d) denial of judicial redress resulting in a disproportionate or discriminatory punishment; e) prosecution or punishment for refusal to perform military service in a conflict, where performing military service would include crimes or acts falling within the scope of the grounds for exclusion as set out in Art. 12(2); f) acts of a gender-specific or child-specific nature

1. The European Commission adopted the Action Plan on integration on 7 June 2016. Although Member States are primarily responsible for integration, the EU is supporting national and local policies with policy coordination, exchange of knowledge and financial resources.
2. The Plan includes actions across all the policy areas that are crucial for integration: pre-departure and pre-arrival measures, including actions to prepare migrants and the local communities for the integration process; education, including actions to promote language training, participation of migrant children to early childhood education and care, teacher training and civic education; employment and vocational training, including actions to promote early integration into the labour market and migrants entrepreneurship; access to basic services such as housing and healthcare; active participation and social inclusion, including actions to support exchanges with the receiving society, migrants' participation to cultural life and fighting discrimination.
3. While it targets all third-country nationals in the EU, it contains actions to address the specific challenges faced by refugees.
4. For more information see the Website on Integration of the DG Migration and Home Affairs.

1. Active citizenship is an umbrella term for the acquisition and exercise of rights for civic and political participation. As such, it includes citizenship and residence, membership in (political) organisations, voting, running for office, volunteering or participation in political protest. For more information see: Using EU Indicators of Immigrant Integration. Final Report for Directorate-General for Home Affairs, March 2013.
2. Active citizenship is one of the four main policy areas identified in the Common Basic Principles (2004) and reaffirmed in the Zaragoza Declaration on Integration of April 2010 as key factors for a successful integration policy, the others are employment, education and social inclusion. For more information see European Website on Integration.
3. For active citizenship the following core indicators have been developed: the share of immigrants that have acquired citizenship - the share of immigrants holding permanent or long-term residence permits; the share of immigrants among elected representatives. The first two indicators have been integrated in the Eurostat Migrant Integration Statistics, for further information see Eurostat Statistics Explained - Migrant integration statistics - active citizenship.
4. As there is no unified view among EU Member States on indicators in the area of active citizenship, there is a different interpretation of active citizenship policies at national level.

Such protection is generally provided when the actors mentioned under points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 take reasonable steps to prevent the persecution or suffering of serious harm, inter alia, by operating an effective legal system for the detection, prosecution and punishment of acts constituting persecution or serious harm, and when the applicant has access to such protection.

1. Admissibility procedures are conducted when an EU Member State does not have to examine whether an applicant qualifies for international protection because of specific circumstances or the inadmissibility grounds laid down in Art 33 of Directive 2013/32/EU. These are: another EU Member State is responsible for the application under the Dublin III Regulation; another EU Member State has already granted protection; another country is considered to be the first country of asylum or a safe third country for the applicant; the application is a subsequent one with no new elements; or a dependent lodges an application after consenting to be a part of an application.
2. EU Member States do not need to examine an application for international protection on its merits in order to determine whether the application can still be admitted for examination.

In countries signatory to the Schengen Agreement, only citizens from countries which are not signatory to the Schengen Agreement have to go through the admission process, whereas in non-Schengen countries all non-nationals have to be admitted.

The treaty is adopted through a specific act expressing the will of the states and the international organisations participating in the negotiation of that treaty, e.g. by voting on the text, initialling, signing, etc. Adoption may also be the mechanism used to establish the form and content of amendments to a treaty, or regulations under a treaty.

Adulthood can be defined in terms of biology, psychological adult development, law, personal character or social status. For the purposes of this glossary, a more legal definition is used.