National

Eind 2018 hebben het Rijk en gemeenten een samenwerkingsovereenkomst afgesloten ten behoeve van het realiseren van een landelijk dekkend netwerk van begeleidings- en opvangvoorzieningen voor vreemdelingen zonder recht op verblijf en recht op Rijksopvang. Dit zijn de zogeheten Landelijke Vreemdelingenvoorzieningen (LVV’s). Het ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid heeft voor een periode van drie jaar middelen ter beschikking gesteld voor de pilotfase van het programma. Vanaf het voorjaar van 2019 startte de LVV-pilot in vijf pilotgemeenten: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven en Groningen. Bij de uitvoering van de LVV’s zijn de betreffende gemeenten, maatschappelijke organisaties (ngo’s) in die gemeenten, de Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND), de Dienst Terugkeer en Vertrek (DT&V) en de Afdeling Vreemdelingenpolitie, Identificatie en Mensenhandel (AVIM) betrokken.Regioplan heeft een plan- en procesevaluatie van de pilot LVV uitgevoerd. Concreet diende het onderzoek het volgende op te leveren:inzicht in de gestelde doelen binnen de pilot LVV op het landelijke niveau, het gemeentelijke niveau, en op het niveau van de uitvoering van de begeleiding en opvang;inzicht in de opzet van de pilot – zowel praktisch als methodisch – in de vijf pilotgemeenten (betrokken partijen, type opvang en begeleiding, beschikbare middelen);inzicht in de tussentijdse resultaten van de pilot met aandacht voor ‘lessons learned’ en ‘best practices’.bouwstenen (inhoudelijk én praktisch) voor de toekomstige effectevaluatie van de pilot. De focus van het onderzoek was hoofdzakelijk gericht op de ervaringen in de pilotgemeenten. De bredere bestuurlijke inrichting van de pilot was geen expliciet onderdeel van het onderzoek.

Turkey is part of a migration system that is spread over a large geographical area including Europe, Asia, Middle East and North Africa; which is resulting from geopolitical and historical factors and transformed by local, regional, and international events. The migration flows that Turkey experienced have changed throughout the phases of modern Turkey‟s history. In the Early Republican era from 1923 to 1950, as a part of the nation building process, Turkey saw mass emigration of its non-Muslim populations and the arrival of Muslims from the Balkans. In the period from 1950 to 1980, Turkey was mainly characterized as a country of emigration which attempted to recover its economy by sending thousands of migrants to Europe as a solution to unemployment and in order to receive remittances. The period after 1980‟s saw many developments in the migratory movements. One was the increase in the number of asylum seekers from Turkey, due to the military coup and the Kurdish question. Another development in the 1980s was the arrival of economic migrants into Turkey due to the socioeconomic transformation in the region. Thus, standing at the crossroads of three continents, today, Turkey is a country of emigration, immigration and transit migration. At the same time, the prospect of European Union membership has been an important aspect of Turkey‟s historical modernization project and its political relations to the EU have been very influential in the formation of its migration policy making. Within this context and along the guidelines provided by the EUMAGINE project, this report first gives a historical and socio-economic overview of Republic of Turkey and provides an analysis of migration flows and policies in Turkey. Then, the four research areas of Turkey, namely Emirdağ and Dinar in Afyon; VanMerkez in Van and Fatih in Istanbul selected for EUMAGINE research are described.

Luxembourg is characterized by a very specific demographic situation with 47,9% of its resident population being non-Luxembourgish nationals as of 1 January 2018. This particular circumstance makes Luxembourg the EU Member State with the highest share of non-citizens residing on its territory. At the same time, around 85% of the foreign population are citizens of another EU Member State, leading to the fact that third-country nationals constitute only 7,3% of the total resident population of Luxembourg, the lowest share of foreigners coming from a third-country in the European Union. Integration is defined in national legislation as a ‘two-way process by which the foreigners shows their will to participate on a long-term basis to the host society, which, in turn, takes all the necessary measures at the social, economic, political, and cultural levels, to encourage and facilitate this approach. Integration is a task that the State, municipalities and civil society achieve together’. In addition to this legal provision, several strategic documents, most notably the multi-annual national action plan on integration 2018, or PAN integration, published in July 2018, make reference to integration and its definition. The PAN integration provides the framework for the programs and tools favouring the social cohesion of Luxembourgish and non-Luxembourgish nationals and the overall national integration policy by identifying five priority domains, one of which explicitly relates to the reinforcement of employability of non-Luxembourgish nationals. Generally speaking, employment is viewed as a core element of the overall integration process, making both the access to as well as the integration into the Luxembourgish labour market a key element in becoming a part of society. At the same time, this access to and integration into the labour market pose a challenge, particularly to third-country nationals, as the statistics show that their employment rate is lower than that of Luxembourgish nationals or citizens of another EU Member State. Third-country nationals are predominantly occupied in the accommodation and food service activities sector, followed by the administrative and support service activities sector and the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector. A closer look at the evolution of the sectors employing third-country nationals over the last years, however, indicates that in particular the information and communication technologies sector, the professional, scientific and technical activities sector and the financial and insurance activities sector register the most significant growth rates, leading to a development that seem to indicate a ‘double immigration’ of (highly) skilled migrants on the one hand and less or low skilled migrants in the more traditional economic sectors on the other hand. In regard to the general integration approach as well as the labour market integration policy, this study shows that Luxembourg does have not have a specific policy/strategic document/model in place that only focusses on third-country nationals. All political documents (laws and strategic documents such as the PAN 2010-2014 and the new PAN integration of 2018) and public measures (Welcome and Integration Contract (CAI), linguistic leave, support measures provided by the National Employment Agency (ADEM), measures facilitating school integration, electoral registration campaigns, etc.) are aimed at all foreign nationals without distinguishing between EU nationals and third-country nationals. It is the Immigration Law that provides the legal framework regarding the various grounds of migration for economic purposes. Additionally, the legislator aims to be attractive for certain categories of migrants coming to Luxembourg for economic purposes in order to meet the needs of the country’s economic development (via legislative measures such as the European Blue Card, the ‘investor’ residence permit or the agreement between Luxembourg and Cape Verde). This being said, this study will present examples of practices that have been identified as good practices in the context of the topic of labour market integration of third-country nationals, despite the fact that they, for the most part, do not fit 100% into the pre-set structure of the study template at hand. In section 2.2, three Member State measure are presented, the first of which is the linguistic leave, a specific form of additional special leave that is accessible for salaried and independent workers of all nationalities, resident or non-resident, to learn or perfect the command of the Luxembourgish language. This legislative measure was introduced by law in 2009 with the intention to facilitate the integration of the beneficiaries into society through the labour market. The second measure is the AMIF-project ‘InSitu JOBS’ by the non-governmental organisation CLAE asbl (with co-financing from the Luxembourgish State). This project, which ended in April 2018 was targeted at third-country nationals within the scope of this study as well as at beneficiaries of international protection by providing them information and counselling in the context of access and integration into the Luxembourgish labour market. The third measure was also an AMIF-project and consists of a practical guide that was developed and drafted by IMS Luxembourg, a network of Luxembourgish companies, in order to provide information on how to hire and integrate third-country nationals. As for the private sector measures in section 2.3. of this study, research of secondary resources as well as consultations with various relevant stakeholders proved to be rather difficult in terms of finding private sector initiatives that specifically target at supporting or facilitating the labour market integration of third-country nationals within the scope of this study. Two measures were selected in this context, the first consisting of a specific recruitment method (simulation-based recruitment method) by a large international company which allows them to evaluate various different profiles of people that are not necessarily detectable through the classic CV-based recruitment methods. The second measure is a business guide developed by the American Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg and aims to promote and facilitate the establishment of new business in Luxembourg by providing information on everything that entrepreneurs and international companies need to know in this context.

Turkey has long been characterized as a country of emigration due to the large-scale migration of Turkish workers to Western Europe beginning in the 1960s. However, Turkey has also increasingly become a country of immigration in recent years. In fact, migra-tion to Turkey is not a new phenomenon: Migration movements had occurred during the Ottoman period and in the immediate years following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Yet, it must be stressed that these migratory movements differ both in terms of nature and scale. While former migration move-ments to Turkey consisted of migrants of Turkish ethnicity from neighboring countries, recent migra-tion to Turkey has become much more diverse. At the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and the European Union (EU), Turkey now faces various migration flows such as transit migrants, clandestine immigrant workers, high-skilled personnel, asylum seekers, and refugees from different countries. Among these migrant groups are also German citizens who have settled in Turkey for various reasons. Because of these new migration flows into the country, as well as the EU harmonization process, Turkey, willingly or not, has been forced to adapt its migration legislation. In rela-tion to this, Turkey has entered into a serious reform process in recent years, and many fundamental legal amendments have been made regarding the status of foreigners in Turkey. The Law on Work Permits for Foreigners (Law No. 4817) and Law on Foreigners and International Protection (Law No. 6458) are of significant importance concerning foreigners’ legal participation possibilities in Turkey. Based on the empirical findings of my Mercator-IPC Fellowship, this report investigates the possibilities of German citizens’ legal membership on the “Turkish side” of the transnational German-Turkish space from the migrant’s perspective. In doing so, this report also reflects upon some general characteristics of the Turkish migration policy.

In Luxembourg, family reunification is one of the main reasons for immigration of third-country nationals. In fact, “family member” and “private reasons (family links)” residence permits (first deliveries and renewals) represented more than a third of all residence permits issued during the last three years. While the right to family reunification was solely provided by international law and regulated by administrative practice until 2008, the transposition of Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification led to a much more precise and detailed legal framework. A notable change in legislation has been proposed with the introduction of bill n° 6992 , namely the harmonisation of the conditions that apply to third-country national employees with those of Blue Card holders and researchers. Thus, family reunification requirements for certain categories of applicants shall be alleviated through the abrogation of the 12-month residence requirement for the sponsor. In order to apply for family reunification in Luxembourg, sponsors have to meet a number of requirements for exercising the right to family reunification, which include the provision of suitable accommodation for the size of their family; meeting health and safety standards; health insurance; as well as stable and regular resources to provide for themselves and their family members. As recommended by Directive 2003/86/EC, Luxembourg sets out more favourable conditions to beneficiaries of international protection for the exercise of their right to family reunification. Thus, they do not have to comply with the above-mentioned requirements in case they apply for family reunification within 3 months of being granted the status. Family members who have come to Luxembourg under family reunification have access to education, orientation, vocational training, lifelong learning and professional retraining once their residence permit has been issued. Family members furthermore have access to the labour market. In case the family member has resided in Luxembourg for less than one year when the application is submitted, it will be submitted to the labour market test. Family members can also, under a number of conditions, benefit from guaranteed minimum income, social aid, long-term residence status as well as citizenship. National stakeholders noted that the requirement of finding appropriate accommodation and proving stable and regular resources is one of the main challenges for sponsors. For family members as well as sponsors, having sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of family reunification can be another challenge to accessing family reunification. Family members of beneficiaries of international protection in particular face the more procedural challenge of providing proof of identity and family links, which can be difficult due to lacking documentation, differing administrative practices in the country of origin and/or the lack of cooperation of institutions. Gaining access to family reunification is also particularly difficult for beneficiaries of international protection who arrived in Luxembourg as unaccompanied minors but reached adulthood during the examination of their file, as they must provide proof of their family member’s dependency upon them. The limited number of diplomatic representations of Luxembourg abroad poses a challenge both to family members who must present themselves there, as well as for the Luxembourgish authorities who require information on certain countries. Perceived as a best practice with regard to family reunification are the information that NGOs and the lawyers in the field of migration and asylum provide to beneficiaries of international protection with regard to procedures of family reunification, thereby contributing to the beneficiary’s ability to enter an application for family reunification within the 3-month period. The practice of accepting the submission of an application of family members of beneficiaries of international protection that contains only a commencement of proof of family links and allowing for the finalisation at a later date is also perceived as a good practice, as it enables them to exercise their right to family reunification while benefitting from more favourable conditions. Furthermore, the issuance of a “laisser-passer” for beneficiaries of international protection who cannot obtain travel documents is perceived as a big step forward by national stakeholders. Lastly, Restoring Family Links, a service provided by the Luxembourgish Red Cross, is also considered a reliable tool with regard to tracing missing family members abroad.

Since the late 1970s, international wars and intra-state violence have battered the country of Afghanistan, generating several waves of mass displacement. According to the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2011), a tragic consequence of this violent legacy is that currently one out of every four refugees in the world is from Afghanistan – making it the leading country of origin for refugees. Although 2.7 million Afghans are now scattered across 79 countries, the majority of them sought refuge in neighboring or nearby countries such as Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey. Finding “durable solutions” to resolve the plight of displaced people has become a priority for the UNHCR and the international community. While voluntary repatriation remains the most preferred solution, continued instability, the threat of persecution, and the inability to access basic services prevent many refugees from returning to their country of origin (UNHCR, 2011). This is particularly the case for Afghan refugees. Since almost half of all Afghan asylum claims have been lodged in Turkey or Germany (UNHCR, 2011), reliance upon the cooperation and protection of these two governments has become critical.Due to its unique geographical location, Turkey has been a key transit country for migrants. UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Francois Crepeau, noted in his 2012 Human Rights Council report that Turkey has become a hub, particularly for migrants from Asia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Africa. Many refugees cross over Turkey on their way to Europe. It is estimated that approximately 55,000 migrants crossed from Turkey into Greece via the Evros River in 2011 (UNHCR in Turkey: Facts and Figures, 2010). Unfortunately, cooperation between the EU and Turkey to address the issue of these undocumented crossings has primarily focused on securing the border rather than addressing the needs of those migrating. In the last two decades, economic growth and political stability have strengthened Turkey’s appeal as a destination for migrants and asylum-seekers instead of a mere transit country. Continuing upheaval in neighboring countries such as Iraq and Syria has also added to the large influx of asylum seekers and refugees. By the end of 2011, UNHCR had processed 35,000 individuals as a “population of concern” in Turkey and this figure does not include the approximate 200,000 Syrian “guests” now living in camps along its southern border (UNHCR, 2011; Davutoğlu, 2012). Turkey’s geo-political position in the region is significant, and its support of the UNHCR’s goal to seek durable solutions for the thousands who migrate through the area is necessary. However, due to its current migration and border management policies and practices, those who find their way inside Turkey are often caught in a tenuous mixture of uncertainty and bureaucratic entanglements. This article seeks to examine, in particular, the plight of Afghan refugee women who have been caught between Turkey’s internal migration policies and international community’s reluctance to host their resettlement. A team consisting of a scholar-practitioner, two graduate students, and one translator researched how complex humanitarian experiences and exposure to war affected the emotional well-being of Afghan women in their home countries, during their migration to Turkey, upon their arrival in the Turkish city of Van and later during their second displacement to Mersin. In order to conduct this research, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted in the city of Mersin in 2012. A total of 20 Afghan refugee women participated in this project. The women who participated in the project were selected because (a) they had fled from Afghanistan due to the violence and war between 2006 and 2011, (b) they had chosen to come to Turkey and currently awaited resettlement to a third country, and (c) they had survived two earthquakes in Van and were re-settled again in Mersin1. Research analysis indicated that as one of the receiving countries, Turkey has not been particularly flexible throughout this vulnerable group’s migration process. Turkey’s internal border management and migration policies, along with the international community’s reluctance to permanently resettle Afghans have negatively and repeatedly impacted the lives of these refugees.

In over six years of escalating violence, more than 200,000 Syrians have been killed, and millions more have been forced to flee their homes both within the country and to neighboring states. The repercussions of this ongoing violence have reached Europe, with refugee numbers set to reach 1 million in Germany alone.1 In a desperate bid to stem the flow of people, the EU and Turkey reached a deal in November 2015 to reduce the number of migrants entering Europe from Turkish territory. UNHCR’s Regional Refugee Response estimates that Turkey now hosts 2.1 million registered Syrians refugees.2 This number easily reaches 2.3 million when unregistered Syrians are included. Contrary to the popular image, the majority of Syrians, like other refugee groups, are found outside camps in urban areas. Through interviews with a sample of Turkish NGOs and Syrian people of different religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in Istanbul, this report highlights the daily challenges and insecurity faced by Syrians in urban areas that are not only leading many to leave for Europe but also directly influencing refugees’ choices in how they exit the country. While the Turkish state has spent over 7.6 billion USD on refugees, the overwhelming majority of this goes towards the 25 refugee camps in the country. There is no state support for urban refugees in Turkey outside those near the camps. Inconsistency also exists in the posi-tion, knowledge, and response of the various municipal governments in Istanbul regarding Syrian populations. In consultation with the Istanbul governor’s office and the relevant national agencies, Istanbul’s local munici-palities are responsible for and oversee a number of services in their vicinity from infrastructure and maintenance to health, religious, and water services. Knowledge of the number and needs of the populations in their districts is a necessity for municipal develop-ment in order to plan for emergencies, capacities, and services. In this context, the paradox posed by Syrians in urban areas is that they are a development and legis-lative challenge and not a humanitarian problem. 1T. Porter, “Refugee crisis: Germany has received over 1 million migrants in 2015,” International Business Times, December 10, 2015. Retrieved http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/refugee-crisis-germany-has-received-over-1-mil-lion-migrants-2015-1532674 2Syrian Regional Refugee Response: Inter-agency Information Sharing Portal, United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, November 2015, accessed November 30, 2015, http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/re-gional.php.All interviewees for this report highlighted a number of problems and issues with living in Turkey. In the case of one family interviewed, these were identified as push factors that eventually led them to travel to Europe. A lack of documentation such as residence or work permits and the accompanying rights entailed exclude Syrians from simple practices such as opening a bank account, ensuring restitution for their work, legally renting, and in many cases paying their utilities. This creates a fundamental insecurity and instability in the lives of Syrians that prevents them from settling in Turkey. Bureaucratic problems in harmonization and commu-nication result in rules and laws being inadequately announced and inconsistently applied from place to place. These problems range from inconsistency in the application of mobility restrictions on Syrians to knowledge of their rights. Despite legal entitlements and efforts by the Turkish state to enroll Syrian children into schools, there has been limited success outside the camps. In urban areas, there have been reports of some schools rejecting Syrian children due to discrimination, a lack of capacity, or ignorance of the law.3 Similarly, there is inconsistency in the application and acceptance of Syrians by health workers. Inter-viewees have also complained of the speed in which rules governing Syrians in Turkey change and of not being able to find information on this. This inconsist-ency and a lack of transparency in the implementation of laws and regulations governing Syrians make their situation insecure and untenable.

Luxembourg has integrated in the protection system the European legal framework on protection. However, besides the international protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection status) and the temporary protection statuses, the Luxembourgish legal system foresees two humanitarian statuses which are: a) residence permit for private reasons based on serious humanitarian grounds; b) the postponement of removal based on medical reasons. In regard to the latter, there are the following steps: 1) the postponement of removal can be granted and renewed for up to 24 months; 2) after 2 years, if the medical condition persists, an authorisation of stay for medical reasons may be granted and a residence permit for private reasons may be issued. However, it is important to stress at this point that the Luxembourgish authorities do not consider the two aforementioned residence permits issued according to articles 78 (3) and 131 (2) of the Immigration Law as “protection statuses” as such, but precisely as residence permits issued to the applicant. The granting of these two “protection statuses” are based on the discretionary power of the Minister in charge of Immigration and Asylum. The residence permit for private reasons based on humanitarian grounds (Status A of this report) allows for the Minister to grant an authorisation to stay in the country to an irregular migrant if s/he is in in need to stay based on humanitarian reasons of exceptional circumstances. There is not an exhaustive list of reasons on which the Minister can base his/her decision. However, there is an exhaustive analysis of the reasons advance by the applicant. Any third country national irregularly staying on the territory can apply for this residence permit. However, in the case of rejected asylum seekers, the application will be rejected if the applicant advances the same reasons that s/he advanced during the international protection procedure. On the contrary, the residence permit for medical reasons requires that, in the first stage, the applicant had received a return decision and an order to leave the territory. In order to obtain the residence permit, he/she has to obtain first a decision for a postponement of removal for medical reasons that has to be renewed for two years before the applicant can file the application for the residence permit based on medical reasons. This residence permit is not granted automatically and if the applicant does not file his/her application after expiration of the postponement of removal for medical reasons after two years, s/he will be precluded and the return decision will be executed, except if s/he proves that s/he cannot be returned for medical reasons. In this case, the entire procedure will have to start again.

Het doel van het programma LVV is het ontwikkelen van een landelijk dekkend netwerk van LVV’s. In de LVV’s werken lokale maatschappelijke organisaties en de landelijke ketenpartners onder regie van de gemeente samen aan het vinden van bestendige oplossingen voor vreemdelingen zonder recht op verblijf of rijksopvang. Met bestendige oplossingen wordt bedoeld: terugkeer naar het land van herkomst, doormigratie naar een derde land waar permanent verblijf gewaarborgd is, en, indien dit tot de mogelijkheden behoort, legalisering van verblijf in Nederland. Sinds medio 2019 zijn in de vijf gemeenten LVV pilots gestart om de juiste aanpak, structuur en wijze van samenwerken binnen de LVV’s te ontwikkelen.

TÜBİTAK tarafından desteklenen “Türkiye’nin Uluslararası Göç Politikaları, 1923-2023: Ulus-devlet Oluşumundan Ulus-ötesi Dönüşümlere” konulu bu proje Türkiye’nin uluslararası göç ve sığınma politikalarını tarihsel süreç içerisinde kapsamlı ve sistemli bir şekilde ele alıp, bu politikaların güncel konumunu ve gelecekteki dönüşüm süreçlerini irdelemektedir. Modern Türkiye tarihi Cumhuriyet’in kuruluşundan bu yana farklı şekiller alan uluslararası göç ve sığınma hareketlerine sahne olmuştur. Kuruluşunun ilk yıllarında uluslararası bir nüfus mübadelesi sonucunda nüfusu önemli ölçüde göçle yenilenen Türkiye, aynı yıllarda yine yüksek sayılara varan bir soydaş göçüyle karşılaşmış, bunu köylerden kentlere gerçekleşen iç göçler ve işgücü göçleri izlemiştir. Soğuk Savaş, küreselleşme ve Türkiye’nin Avrupa Birliği’ne üyelik süreci gibi birçok gelişme ulusal ve uluslararası ortamı etkilemiş ve Türkiye’ye yönelen göçmen ve sığınmacı profilinde de belirgin değişikliklere neden olmuştur. Türkiye artık sadece göç veren ve alan bir ülke değil, aynı zamanda başka ülkelere gitmek isteyen ülke vatandaşları için geçiş yapabilecekleri bir “göç geçiş ülkesi” konumuna gelmiştir. Göç ve sığınma politikalarını tarihsel ve güncel düzeyde ele alan kapsamlı bir çalışmanın yokluğundan yola çıkan bu çalışma da, son dönemde uluslararası göç ve sığınma politikalarının Türkiye için artan önemini göz önüne alarak, hem bu politikaların ayrıntılı bir değerlendirmesini yapmayı, hem de tarihsel bir bakış açısıyla bu politikaların toplumsal, siyasal ve ekonomik yansımalarına dolaysız göndermeler de bulunmayı hedeflemiştir.

Unlike many other EU Member States, the higher education system in Luxembourg is marked by a particular characteristic, namely the fact that the University of Luxembourg is the only public university in the country. Established by law in 2003, the University of Luxembourg is therefore the main actor in the higher education system and hosts the large majority of international students in Luxembourg. In addition to the University of Luxembourg, two more types of institutions complement the higher education system in Luxembourg and are recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research as higher education institutions (hereafter referred to as ‘HEIs’), namely: 1. Secondary educational institutions offering educational programmes that award an advanced technician’s certificate (‘Brevet de technicien supérieur’ – ‘BTS’); 2. Private foreign universities having infrastructures or campus in Luxembourg. In order to be able to award higher education diplomas as well as to host international students, all HEIs are mandatorily required to be approved by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, with the exception of the University of Luxembourg because it was established by law. The admission conditions for international students to study at a HEI in Luxembourg are twofold: First, the international student must apply and be accepted at an approved HEI or at the University of Luxembourg. Second, once accepted at a HEI, s/he needs to apply for a temporary authorisation of stay, and subsequently, if applicable, a Visa D (valid for 3 months), from his/her country of origin before being authorised to travel to Luxembourg and before being issued a ‘student’ residence permit (valid for minimum 1 year and renewable) in Luxembourg. To conclude, the HEIs in Luxembourg, under the overall auspice of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, as well as the immigration authorities are the main stakeholders in the context of international students studying in Luxembourg. Luxembourg transposed the Directive (EU) 2016/801 by the Law of 1 August 2018, which amended the amended ‘Immigration Law’ and entered into force on 21 September 2018. In this context, the study highlights in particular the introduction of a new residence permit for ‘private reasons’ in view of seeking employment or establishing a business in Luxembourg. This residence permit was newly introduced by the transposition of the Directive and allows international graduates to remain in the country for a maximum duration of nine months in order to find a job or establish a business in relation to their academic training. Prior to the transposition, international students were only able to change their immigration status to ‘salaried worker’ immediately after their graduation. Moreover, the transposition modified a number of legal dispositions, such as the increase of the maximum amount of hours that students are authorised to work, from 10 hours to 15 hours per week. Furthermore, Bachelor students enrolled in their first year of academic studies as well as students enrolled in a study programme awarding them a ‘BTS’ are no longer excluded from exercising a salaried activity as allowed by law. Lastly, the transposition also facilitates the intra-European mobility of international students who follow a European or multilateral programme that contains mobility measures or a convention between two or more HEIs. The attraction and retention of international students are not considered as a national political priority per se by the Luxembourgish authorities, but have to be perceived in an overall national political priority of attracting “talents” to Luxembourg, i.e. (highly) qualified persons, regardless of their nationality and in the interest of the country and its economy. The stakeholders consulted in the context of this study identified several factors that may have positive effects on the attraction and retention of international students. These include, among others: - the geographical position of Luxembourg with an important financial sector and several European institutions - the multilingual environment of the country as well as the University of Luxembourg - the HEI ranking of the University of Luxembourg - the comparatively low levels of tuition fees, particularly of the national public HEIs - the fact that the level tuition fees is the same for every student, no matter his/her nationality, with the exception of examples from private HEIs Furthermore, the consulted stakeholders identified several examples of good practices in the context of this study, such as for example: - A close and diligent collaboration between all stakeholders, in particular between the Directorate of Immigration, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the University of Luxembourg - Quality management of private HEI (mainly through the approval procedure) in view of the best interest of students - Affordable tuitions fees in the higher education system At the same time, the consulted stakeholders have identified several challenges, such as: - the languages of instruction (with a strong emphasis on French and German especially at the Bachelor/‘BTS’ levels) and the primary working languages (French and Luxembourgish) - socio-economic factors, particularly the high costs of living and the challenge of finding affordable housing - authenticity and veracity of transmitted diplomas in the context of a diploma recognition - a challenging procedure related to the entrance exam for international students who hold a high school diploma issued in a country that is not a signatory country of Paris/Lisbon conventions - potential misuse of the ‘student’ residence permit in view of trying to stay in the country instead of succeeding in the studies. In addition to the major legislative change introduced by the transposition of the Directive and the various factors and challenges mentioned above, the study also highlights a number of initiatives, offered in particular by the University of Luxembourg, aiming to support international students after their graduation and to encourage them to establish and/or maintain a connection to the national labour market. The study concludes with a section on bilateral and multilateral cooperation with third countries, both at the level of the Luxembourgish State as well as at the level of HEIs, particularly of the University of Luxembourg.

En Belgique, les citoyens de l’UE et les ressortissants de pays tiers ont le droit de voter aux élections locales. Les ressortissants de pays tiers jouissent de ce droit après cinq ans de résidence ininterrompue en Belgique. Les citoyens de l’UE ont également le droit de se présenter comme candidat aux élections locales. De plus, ces derniers ont le droit de voter et de se présenter comme candidats aux élections européennes. Les droits électoraux des citoyens belges résidant à l’étranger sont plus restrictifs. En effet, les citoyens non-résidents ont le droit de voter mais pas de se présenter comme candidats aux élections législatives. Les citoyens belges ont également le droit de voter aux élections européennes s’ils résident dans un pays membre de l’UE ou dans un pays tiers mais seuls les Belges résidant dans un autre Etat Membre de l’UE peuvent se présenter comme candidats. En Belgique, une fois inscrits, tous les électeurs sont obligés de voter. Malgré les campagnes de sensibilisation menées par différentes institutions et des associations de la société civile lors des dernières élections, une difficulté majeure à laquelle restent confrontés les électeurs est le manque d’information concernant les procédures d’inscription et le processus politique de manière plus générale. Une manière d’encourager la participation politique des résidents non-belges serait de formaliser les stratégies de diffusion de l’information et de communiquer avec les nouveaux résidents dans différentes langues.

Illegal employment by third country nationals is a reality in Luxembourg. However, as well as in the case of grey and informal economy, it is rather hard to grasp or quantify to which extent. Nevertheless, the problem is not as significant as the one of the posted workers which is more relevant and worrisome and needs to be situated in the context of a labour market of the Greater Region. In the past, several labour related regularisation measures have been implemented in Luxembourg in order to provide both employers and employees the possibility to regularise situations of illegal employment. The last labour related regularisation measure was implemented in early 2013 in the context of the transposition of the Employers' Sanctions Directive 2009/52 by law of 21 December 2012. During this regularisation, the Directorate of Immigration received 664 applications. These regularisations give a partial indication of the extent of the phenomenon, even though these numbers do not provide a real picture of the problem because the conditions of this regularisation were very strict and in a very short time frame (less than two months) and a certain number of irregular migrants’ workers were not willing to expose themselves by applying and preferred to remain undetected. This regularisation also provided information on the main sectors were the phenomenon is found in order of importance: HORECA, cleaning, crafts, industry and construction. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social and Solidary Economy at the end of the regularisation has insisted in the need to increase the number of controls to employers. The law of 21 December 2012 established administrative as well as criminal sanctions for employers who illegally employ irregularly staying third country nationals, particularly in relation to offenses to the Labour Code in aggravating circumstances. This law amended also article 89 of the Immigration Law abrogating the possibility of making labour related regularisations. The Inspectorate of Labour (‘Inspection de Travail et des Mines’, hereafter called ITM), which is in charge of labour inspections and the control of illegal employment of TCNs in Luxembourg, is currently going through a restructuring phase following the latest audit of this administration from January 2015. Particularly the current insufficient number of staff of the ITM, which is in need of a significant short term increase of staff, represents a main challenge in the field of illegal employment in Luxembourg. It is also in the context of this restructuring phase of the responsible administration that the drafting of this study presented a number of challenges, especially in relation to the operational and statistical part of the template. The information regarding the conditions to be fulfilled by both the employers and the employees in the context of an employment relationship are available on the website of the concerned authorities. Furthermore, they are disseminated by the NGOs working in the field, even though there are no specific campaigns targeted to prevent illegal employment of TCNs. The matter was raised in the context of the ‘social identification badge’, which was introduced in 2013 in order to fight against social dumping in particular in the construction sector. One national stakeholder suggested that the ‘social identification badge’ could be revised and adapted to other economic sectors in order to better monitor and prevent illegal employment. In regards to access to justice and enforcement of rights of illegally employed TCNs, Luxembourg foresees the right for illegally employed TCNs to make a claim against their employer, including in cases in which they have, or have been, returned. This claim falls under the general provisions concerning the right to bring a case before civil courts. The Labour Code establishes that the employer who has employed an irregular staying third-country national must pay to the third-country national the following amounts: 1) salaries and any other emoluments, which a similar employee would have benefited for the same employment; 2) the total amount of outstanding remuneration as well as the cost of the transfer of these amounts to the third-country national to the country to which s/he is returned; 3) the total amount of unpaid social contributions and taxes, including administrative fines, as well as, court and legal fees. In addition, the Labour Code establishes that the third-country national who has been illegally employed before the execution of any return decision has to be systematically and objectively informed by the control agents of his/her rights to recover the outstanding remunerations and back payments, as well as the right to benefit from free of charge legal aid in order to attempt a recovery action against the employer, even if the third-country national has already been returned. Labour unions can support and assist TCNs in legal proceedings related to social and labour law, provided that they have been given a mandate to do so. Eventual costs of administrative and civil proceedings can be taken in charge by the labour unions if the TCN is a member of the respective labour union. The Law does not establish fines against TCN’s who were illegally employed. The TCN may be issued a return decision and lose his/her residence rights; however, the Directorate of immigration processes these situations on a case-by-case basis and inform the persons concerned to terminate the illegal employment situation.