Glossary

Definition

In relation to conveyance (or transport), the owner or charterer of the conveyance.

Comments 1. A carrier usually refers to an airline, bus or rail company, or cruise line. Under the laws of some States, the term includes any owner of a means of conveyance, which carries a person onto its territory.
2. The definition given in Art. 2(a) of Council Directive 2004/82/EC (API Directive) is more restrictive in that it refers explicitly to passenger transport by air and there is uncertainty as to what ‘any natural or legal person’ actually refers to, e.g. if this is the owner of the company only.

Source

IOM Glossary on Migration, 2nd. ed., 2011

Definition

Any work performed by a child which deprives them of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development.

Broader child

Related forced labour

Comments 1. The definition does allow for a child to work (e.g. in a shop outside school hours) as long as it does not conflict with the above. It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling by:
- depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
- obliging them to leave school prematurely; or 
requiring them to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
2. The ILO Convention No 138 specifies 15 years as the age above which, in normal circumstances, a person may participate in economic activity. According to Art. 32 of the Charter of Fundamentals Rights of the European Union, the employment of children is prohibited. The minimum age of admission to employment may not be lower than the minimum school-leaving age, without prejudice to such rules as may be more favourable to young people and except for limited derogations.
3. Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. The ILO distinguishes between ‘child work’ and ‘child labour’, the latter being used to describe the more pejorative part of ‘child work’, whereas ‘child work’ in itself could include doing light household chores and, as long as it does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, can actually have some learning value.

Source

Webpage of the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)

Definition

Every human being below the age of 18 years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier or later.

Narrower child labour

Related adult, age assessment, minor

Comments 1. There is still no concrete, consistent definition of ‘child’ under EU law. The Lisbon Treaty introduced an objective for the EU to promote children’s rights. Moreover the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union guarantees the protection of children’s rights by EU institutions, as well as by EU countries when they implement EU law. For further information, see the webpage of  DG Justice on the Rights of the Child and Fundamental Rights Agency: Developing indicators for the protection, respect and promotion of the rights of the child in the European Union, March 2009.
2. The term should be used to describe the relationship with other family members. When referring to an individual and in a more legal context, the term minor should be used.

Source

Art. 1 of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Definition

A person who works as an employee or self-employed person in one EU Member State but is recognised as residing in another (neighbouring) EU Member State.

Synonyms cross-border commuter

Related frontier worker

Comments 1. In dealing with cross-border issues a multitude of definitions for the term 'cross-border worker/commuter' exists.
2. The concept of cross-border workers covers different circumstances, depending on whether one takes the Community meaning (set out, in particular, in connection with social security) or the various definitions included in bilateral double-taxation agreements.
3. Where tax is concerned, bilateral double-taxation agreements determining the tax arrangements applicable to frontier workers use more restrictive definitions which additionally impose a spatial criterion: the fact of living and working in a frontier zone.
4. Often 'cross-border workers' and 'frontier workers' are considered as synonyms. However, cross-border workers are distinct from frontier workers to the extent that they do not necessarily work in the frontier zone of the host country.

Source Derived by EMN from the definition of ‘cross-border workers’ by DG Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD)

Definition

In the EU context, a third country to which a third-country national returns.

Related country of origin, country of transit

Comments 1. This is not defined in legal terms.
2. In most cases, it is the country of origin to which a return is made, but this definition is used here in order to indicate other (possible) destinations, e.g. country of transit or another third country.

Source EMN: Return migration, 2007

Definition In the global context, obligatory return of an individual to the country of origin, transit or third country (i.e. country of return), on the basis of an administrative or judicial act.
In the EU context, the process of going back –  whether in voluntary or enforced compliance with an obligation to return– to:

• one's country of origin; or
• a country of transit in accordance with EU or bilateral readmission agreements or other arrangements; or
• another third country, to which the third-country national concerned voluntarily decides to return and in which they will be accepted.

Synonyms forced return, refoulement

Broader return

Narrower removal, voluntary departure

Related refoulement, Voluntary return

Comments 1. Compulsory return is understood as return which occurs once a return decision has been issued. Art. 3(3) of Directive 2008/115 (Return Decision) calls this ‘return’ (not ‘compulsory return’) but so as to avoid confusion with the return of migrants based on their free will and without any direction from the State, we have named ‘return’ when occurring in compliance with a return decision, ‘compulsory return’.
2.  Outside of EU legislation the term ‘forced return’ is more commonly used and understood as a synonym with ‘compulsory return’ – i.e. return which occurs in compliance with a return decision.

Source Global context: Derived by EMN from the definition of 'forced return' in the IOM Glossary on Migration, 2nd ed., 2011
EU context: Art. 3(3) of Directive 2008/115/EC (Return Directive)

Definition

Personnel of the determining authority responsible for examining and assessing an application for international protection and competent to take a decision at first instance in such a case.

Synonyms asylum case worker, case worker, decision-maker, asylum determination officer, case officer

Related determining authority

Comments

Source

Derived by EMN from the definition of ‘decision maker’ in UNHCR: Beyond Proof – Credibility Assessment in EU Asylum Systems, 2013

Definition

The country (or countries) of which a person holds citizenship.

Synonyms state of nationality

Related citizenship, country of birth, country of origin

Comments 1. A person may have a different country of nationality from their country of origin and / or country of birth owing, for example, to the acquisition of citizenship in a country different from their country of birth.
2. In some EU Member States, this term is used in the context of return.

Source

Developed by EMN

Definition

The particular legal bond between an individual and their State, acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, choice, marriage or other means according to national legislation.

Synonyms nationality

Narrower dual citizenship, acquisition of citizenship, loss of citizenship, union citizen

Related country of nationality, ethnic nationality

Comments 1. Whilst in some EU Member States a distinction is made between citizenship and nationality, in the EU context and for the purpose of this glossary, no distinction is made and the two terms are considered to be interchangeable. In countries which distinguish between citizenship and nationality, the term citizenship refers specifically to the legal rights and duties of nationals. The European Convention on Nationality, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Glossary and the EUDO Glossary on Citizenship and Nationality
2. According to Art. 1 of the Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Law, 1930, it is for each State to determine under its own laws who are its nationals.
3. The tie of nationality confers individual rights and imposes obligations that a State reserves for its population. Nationality carries with it certain consequences as regards migration, such as the right of a State to protect its nationals against violations of their individual rights committed by foreign authorities (particularly by means of diplomatic protection), the duty to accept its nationals onto its territory, and the prohibition to expel them.

Source Art. 2(d) of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 (Migration Statistics Regulation)

Definition The five enumerated grounds listed in Art. 1A(2) of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion which must be the reason for persecution.

Synonyms grounds for persecution, reasons for persecution

Broader persecution

Related Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol, refugee

Comments 1. Not every person who is outside their own country and has a well-founded fear of persecution is a Convention refugee. One of the conditions for qualification for refugee status within the meaning of Art. 1(A) of the Geneva Refugee Convention is the existence of a causal link between the reasons for persecution, namely race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, and the acts of persecution or the absence of protection against such acts. Persecution based on any other ground will not be considered. The risk of being persecuted may sometimes arise in circumstances where two or more Convention grounds combine in the same person, in which case the combination of such grounds defines the causal connection to the well-founded fear of being persecuted.
2. The following definitions come into play when States attempt to determine who is and who is not a refugee :
- race is used in its broadest sense and includes ethnic and social groups of common descent;
- religion also has meaning, including identification with a group that tends to share common traditions or beliefs, as well as the active practice of religion;
- nationality includes an individual’s citizenship. Persecution of ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups within a population also may be termed persecution based on nationality;
- a particular social group refers to people who share a similar background, habits or social status. This category often overlaps with persecution based on one of the other four grounds. It has applied to families of capitalists, landowners, homosexuals, entrepreneurs and former members of the military;
- political opinion refers to ideas not tolerated by the authorities, including opinions critical of government policies and methods. It includes opinions attributed to individuals even if the individual does not in fact hold that opinion. Individuals who conceal their political opinions until after they have fled their countries may qualify for refugee status if they can show that their views are likely to subject them to persecution if they return home.

Source Derived by EMN from Art. 1A(2) of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol

Definition

The process of gathering relevant information from the applicant for international protection, examining it in the light of all the information available to the case worker in procedures for international protection, for the purpose of the determination of qualification for refugee status and / or subsidiary protection status.

Related real risk of suffering serious harm

Comments 1. The credibility assessment is also a step taken in adjudicating an application for a visa or other immigration status, in order to determine whether the information presented by the applicant is consistent and believable (see the definition ‘credibility assessment’ in the IOM Glossary on Migration, 2nd ed., 2011)
2. Credibility is established where the applicant has presented a claim which is coherent and plausible, not contradicting generally known facts, and therefore is, on balance, capable of being believed.

Source UNHCR: Beyond proof – credibility assessment in EU asylum systems, 2013

Definition

Person recognized as a refugee by States under the criteria in Art. 1A of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol, and entitled to the enjoyment of a variety of rights under that Convention.

Synonyms recognized refugee

Broader beneficiary of international protection

Related refugee status, mandate refugee, relocation

Source

UNHCR International Thesaurus of Refugee Terminology

Definition

A person who leaves their country to escape from the effects of armed conflicts (direct effects of fighting, assaults of combat troops, displacements etc.).

Related de facto refugee, displaced person, person eligible for subsidiary protection, subsidiary protection, temporary protection

Comments 1. In accordance with the EU acquis (notably Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive), such a person could be granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status, depending on the grounds on which their application is based (i.e. depending on whether they were compelled to leave as a result of fear of persecution linked to a Convention ground for persecution or serious harm in the context of indiscriminate violence).
2. If there is a mass influx to the EU of such persons who have been displaced, they may also be eligible for temporary protection in accordance with Council Directive 2001/55/EC (Temporary Protection Directive).

Source Derived by EMN from the definitions for ‘refugee’, ‘person eligible for subsidiary protection’ and ‘temporary protection’ in the EMN Glossary

Definition

Act committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.

Related exclusion clause, genocide, war crime

Comments Crimes against humanity include:
a) murder;
b) extermination;
c)enslavement;
d) deportation or forcible transfer of population;
e) imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
f) torture;
g) rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
h) persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognised as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
i)enforced disappearance of persons;
j) the crime of apartheid;
k) other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.

Source Art. 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Definition

A concept in the framework of the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM) which bring together migration and development actors in a country or region to manage migration more effectively, in the interests of all, along specific migratory routes.

Synonyms cooperation platform

Related Global Forum on Migration and Development, migration profile, migration routes initiative, mobility partnership

Comments 1. This concept was proposed in the 2006 Communication on the Global Approach COM(2006) 735 and endorsed by the December 2006 European Council.
2. Such platforms bring together representatives of the country or countries concerned with EU Member States, the Commission and international organisations.

Source Derived by EMN from Annex I of the European Commission Communication on the Global Approach to Migration, COM(2006) 735 final
EU context: the European Commission Communication on the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility, COM(2011) 743 final

Definition

The ratio of net migration plus adjustment during the year to the average population in that year.

Related net migration, total migration, population stock, migration flow

Comments

The value is expressed per 1,000 inhabitants. The crude rate of net migration is equal to the difference between the crude rate of increase and the crude rate of natural increase (that is, net migration is considered as the part of population change not attributable to births and deaths). It is calculated in this way because immigration or emigration flows are either unknown or the figures are not sufficiently precise.

Source Eurostat’s Concepts and Definitions Database

Definition

Person working in a country other than their own under contractual arrangements that set limits on the period of employment and on the specific job held by the migrant.

Synonyms contract worker

Broader migrant worker

Related circular migration, seasonal worker

Comments 1. Contract migrant workers cannot change jobs without permission granted by the authorities of the receiving state.
2. This full term is not commonly used; ‘contract worker’, which does not necessarily apply to migrants only, is more common.

Source OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms

Definition

The diversity of forms of culture in a society composed of groups of people from many different cultural backgrounds.

Related cultural pluralism

Comments 1. The UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity reflects the diverse and pluralist understanding of culture and defines cultural diversity in Art. 1 as follows: ‘Diverse forms of culture across time and space which is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind and is a source of exchange, innovation and creativity.’ The scope and definition agreed on in the UNESCO declaration were partly retained in the 2005 UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression), the successive legally binding Convention, which is a landmark agreement in modern international law of culture and which sets out common rules, principles and points of reference for cultural diversity at the global level.
2. On 18 December 2006, the European Community ratified the UNESCO Convention. Preserving and promoting cultural diversity are among the Community’s founding principles: they are enshrined in the Treaty, under Art. 151, and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, under Art. 22.3.

Source Developed by EMN

Definition

A policy aimed at the ensuring of harmonious interaction among people and groups with plural, varied and dynamic cultural identities as well as their willingness to live together.

Related culture, cultural diversity

Comments 1. According to the UNESCO definition, policies for the inclusion and participation of all citizens are guarantees of social cohesion, the vitality of civil society and peace. Thus defined, cultural pluralism gives policy expression to the reality of cultural diversity.
2. See also the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Cultural Expressions, 2005.

Source Art. 2 of UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity

Definition

The set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of a society or a social group encompassing, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.

Related cultural diversity, cultural pluralism

Source Derived by EMN from the definition in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity

Definition

The Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States of the one part and the European Union and its Member States of the other part, in order to promote and expedite the economic, cultural and social development of the ACP States, with a view to contributing to peace and security and to promoting a stable and democratic political environment.

Synonyms ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, Cotonou Partnership Agreement

Related Global Approach to Migration and Mobility, Global Forum on Migration and Development

Comments 1. The Cotonou Agreement is the most comprehensive Partnership Agreement between developing countries and the EU. It was signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou, Benin as a global agreement, introducing important changes and ambitious objectives while preserving the ‘acquis’ of 25 years of ACP-EC cooperation. It was revised in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005.
2. Art. 13 of this agreement refers to the issue of migration which shall be the subject of in-depth dialogue in the framework of the ACP-EU Partnership.
3. For more information, see the description of the Agreement on the EuropeAid website.

Source Cotonou Agreement

Definition

The country of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former habitual residence.

Synonyms state of origin

Narrower country of origin information, safe country of origin

Related country of birth, country of nationality, country of return

Comments

A person may have more than one country of origin.

Source Art. 2(n) of Directive 2011/95/EU (Recast Qualification Directive)

Definition

The country that is a destination for migration flows (regular or irregular).

Related country of origin, country of transit

Source IOM Glossary on Migration, 2nd. ed. 2011

Definition

A body assisting the EU Member States in effectively studying legal migration so as to prevent irregular migration and unlawful residence, in effectively combating immigration crime, in better detecting forged documents and in improving expulsion practice.

Synonyms CIREFI

Related European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Comments 1. CIREFI started its work on 1 January 1995 based on the Council conclusions of 30 November 1994.
2. In December 2009, as a consequence of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, COREPER decided to abolish CIREFI and to transfer its functions to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).

Source Council Conclusions of 30 November 1994 on Cirefi

Definition

A European Commission-led expert group aimed at facilitating an informal exchange of views between EU Member State administrations and the Commission services on political and legal issues related to migration, border and asylum.

Synonyms CIA, Immigration and Asylum Committee

Comments 1. Frequently the CIA discusses upcoming legislative or other proposals in order to ‘measure the temperature’ of EU Member State feelings before submitting a formal Commission proposal.
2. The CIA is also used as a forum for collecting information on the situation in EU Member States (via questionnaires) on selected policy-relevant issues and where the Commission can report to EU Member States on its activities.
3. Participants from EU Member States are nominated on an ad-hoc basis; normally both ‘generalists’ from the Permanent Representations and ‘specialists’ from the capitals are present. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are sometimes invited to join discussions of the CIA as active observers.
4. For more information, see the European Commission Register of Commission Expert Groups.

Source Developed by EMN

Definition

The practice where those who have settled on a family reunification basis can themselves sponsor further family members, consistent with European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) obligations.

Related family formation, family migration, family reunification, right to family life, right to family unity

Comments 1. Originally chain migration refers to a process in which initial movements of migrants lead to further movements from the same area to the same area. In a chain migration system, individual members of a community migrate and then encourage or assist further movements of migration (see Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (BpB): Migration, Citizenship, Education Glossary of Terms )
2. Chain migration may also be based on ethnic or family ties with members of the same family migrating at different times, usually with primary wage earners migrating first, followed by secondary or non-wage earners. In countries with more or less liberal regulations on the rights of migrants to family reunification usually in accordance with international conventions, family reunification as an incidence of chain migration explains much of the growth in the total migrant population.

Source EMN: Family Reunification of Third-Country Nationals in the EU plus Norway: National Practices, 2016
EMN: Family Reunification Study, 2008

Definition

A civil partnership contracted for the sole purpose of enabling the person concerned to enter or reside in a EU Member State.

Related partnership of convenience, marriage of convenience, adoption of convenience, false declaration of parenthood

Source Derived by EMN from the definition for ‘partnership’ in Art. 16(2b) of Council Directive 2003/86/EC (Family Reunification Directive)

Definition

A framework of agreed rules which establish common procedures for international protection and a uniform status for those who are granted refugee status or subsidiary protection based on the full and inclusive application of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol and which aims to ensure fair and humane treatment of applicants for international protection, to harmonise asylum systems in the EU and reduce the differences between Member States on the basis of binding legislation, as well as to strengthen practical cooperation between national asylum administrations and the external dimension of asylum.

Synonyms CEAS

Related minimum standards, Eurasil, European Asylum Support Office, Lisbon Treaty

Comments According to Art. 78 of Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union , the Common European Asylum System shall comprise:
(a) a uniform status of asylum for nationals of third countries, valid throughout the European Union;
(b) a uniform status of subsidiary protection for nationals of third countries who, without obtaining European asylum, are in need of international protection;
(c) a common system of temporary protection for displaced persons in the event of a massive inflow;
(d) common procedures for the granting and withdrawing of uniform asylum or subsidiary protection status;
(e) criteria and mechanisms for determining which Member State is responsible for considering an application for asylum or subsidiary protection;
(f) standards concerning the conditions for the reception of applicants for asylum or subsidiary protection;
(g) partnership and cooperation with third countries for the purpose of managing inflows of people applying for asylum or subsidiary or temporary protection.

Source Derived by EMN from Art. 78 of TFEU

Definition

In the context of EU integration policy, a set of 11 simple, non-binding but thoughtful guidelines intended to assist EU Member States in formulating their integration policies.

Synonyms Common Basic Principles for immigrant integration policy

Broader integration

Related host society

Comments 1. The Common Basic Principles for Immigrant Integration Policy in the EU were adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council in November 2004 and form the foundations of EU initiatives in the field of integration.
2. The Common Basic Principles offer a guide for EU Member States against which they can judge and assess their own efforts. They can also use these basic principles to set priorities and further develop their own measurable goals. The principles are relevant both for EU Member States with considerable experience of substantial immigration as well as for those that have more recently become destinations for significant numbers of immigrants.
3. For more information, see the EU website on integration.

Source Derived by the EMN from the European Website on Integration and JHA Council Conclusions of 19 November 2004.

Definition

A repetition of legal migration by the same person between two or more countries.

Related diaspora, mobility partnership, brain circulation, brain drain, seasonal worker

Comments The two main forms of circular migration which could be most relevant in the EU context are:
(a) Circular migration of third-country nationals settled in the EU 
This category of circular migration gives people the opportunity to engage in an activity (business, professional, voluntary or other) in their country of origin while retaining their main residence in one of the EU Member States. This covers various groups, e.g.:
- business persons working in the EU and wishing to start an activity in their country of origin (or in another third country); and
- doctors, professors or other professionals willing to support their country of origin by conducting part of their professional activity there.
(b) Circular migration of persons residing in a third country
Circular migration could create an opportunity for persons residing in a third country to come to the EU temporarily for work, study, training or a combination of these, on the condition that, at the end of the period for which they were granted entry, they must re-establish their main residence and their main activity in their country of origin. Circularity can be enhanced by giving migrants the possibility, once they have returned, to retain some form of privileged mobility to and from the EU Member States where they were formerly residing, for example in the form of simplified admission / re-entry procedures. This category covers a wide array of situations, spanning the whole spectrum of migrants, including:
- third-country nationals wishing to work temporarily in the EU, e.g. in seasonal employment;
- third-country nationals wishing to study or train in Europe before returning to their country;
- third-country nationals who, after having completed their studies, wish to be employed in the EU (e.g. as trainees) to acquire professional experience which is difficult to obtain at home, before returning;
- third-country researchers wishing to carry out a research project in the EU;
- third-country nationals who wish to take part in intercultural people-to-people exchanges and other activities in the field of culture, active citizenship, education and youth (such as, for example, training courses, seminars, events, study visits);
- third-country nationals who wish to carry out an unremunerated voluntary service pursuing objectives of general interest in the EU.

Source European Commission Communication on Circular Migration and Mobility Partnerships, COM(2007) 248 final