REGINE Regularisations in Europe Final Report - European ...

participation in the labour market is welcomed by the state and private sector) and amnesties, in which
migrants with irregular status are given legal status in an across-the-board manner. 283 GCIM
recommends that regularisation should take place on a case-by-case basis. The successful
achievement of the aims depends on a “transparent decision-making process” with “clearly defined
criteria for migrants to qualify for regular status”. The criteria may include (i) applicant’s employment
record; (ii) language ability; (iii) absence of a criminal record and (iv) the presence of children who
have grown up in the country; “in other words, those who have already achieved a substantial degree
of integration in society”. 284
The Council of Europe (CoE) notes as well that regularisation programmes may have a subsequent
‘pull effect’ for further irregular migration. 285 However, these concerns may be exaggerated if other
factors contributing to irregular migration are not taken into account. These factors refer to:
geographical location, colonial history and linguistic ties, high level of demand for unskilled labour,
narrow front-door for regular migration and difficulty in returning irregular migrants. 286 The
Assembly also recognises that regularisation programmes offer the possibility to protect the rights of
irregular migrants, to tackle the underground economy and to ensure that social contributions and
taxes are paid. 287
Similarly to the Global Commission on International Migration, the CoE distinguishes between
regularisation programmes for specific groups of irregular migrants (exceptional humanitarian
programmes, family reunification programmes, permanent or continuous programmes, earned
regularisation programmes) and general amnesties, which apply to all irregular migrants. 288 The
Council advocates particularly for employer-driven regularisation programmes as a means of meeting
the needs of a large number of irregular migrants, employers, trade unions and society in general. It
supports also a process of earned regularisation, the benefits being that this
i. will provide a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship for migrants through a points
system (points would be awarded on an individual basis to migrants through knowing the
language of their host country, paying taxes, having stable employment, participating in
community life, etc);
ii. has the potential to be self-selecting, since only those migrants who were truly motivated to stay
would earn enough points, while those who were not would be forced to return home;
iii. eliminates the need for large-scale one-shot programmes, since each individual country would
determine who would be regularised on a case-by-case basis. Earned regularisation is
283 GCIM (2005): op. cit. p.38
284 GCIM (2005): op. cit. p.38, para. 35
285 Council of Europe (CoE) Assembly (2007): Recommendation 1807. Regularisation programmes for
irregular migrants, para. 4
286 Council of Europe (CoE) Assembly (2007): Resolution 1568, Regularisation programmes for irregular
migrants, para. 13
287 Council of Europe (CoE): Assembly Recommendation, op. cit., para. 4
288 Council of Europe (CoE): Assembly Resolution, op. cit., para. 9
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