What are the benefits of regular migration?
People who migrate to another country by following the respective laws and procedures are more likely to create for themselves a foundation for a secure, safer, and more fulfilling life abroad. The legal route is associated with opportunities for long-term stability and wellbeing.
Migrating on a regular basis will give you the chance to find job opportunities that offer fair wages, safe working conditions and to have your employment rights protected. You can register for and benefit from healthcare, education, and other social services and in certain cases, you may also be entitled to receive benefits and get other types of governmental support.
Migrating following the legal path means that you will be less vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and human rights violations often associated with irregular migration.
What are the risks and dangers of irregular migration?
When people make the dangerous decision to migrate irregularly, they try to do that by avoiding crossing the border checking points of the country. To undertake this risky journey, they reach to criminal groups, called smugglers. These groups give misleading information and false promises to the migrants. They request a lot of money and put migrants in various risks: people are asked by the smugglers to pay even more money at the different stages of the journey; they are often left without any resources, shelter, food, clean water, medical care. Many migrants are exploited, abused, or even die on their way before reaching the destination.
Irregular migrants are often forced to live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions which can lead to health issues and compromised safety. They may face exploitation from employers who take advantage of their vulnerability and lack of legal protection. Often irregular migrants do not seek help due to their immigration status which leaves them in a dangerous position for even further abuse and exploitation.
You should be aware that irregular migration can lead to legal consequences, such as: deportation, detention, bans for re-entering the country. These can have unwanted lasting impact on your live and future.
Due to the United Nations Migration Agency more than 50,000 migrants are known to have died worldwide since 2014. Half of the 50,000 individual deaths documented occurred on routes to and within Europe, with Mediterranean routes claiming at least 25,104 lives.
European routes also make up the largest number and proportion of missing and presumed dead migrants, with at least 16,032 recorded missing at sea and whose remains have never been recovered.
How to recognise the fake information and/or the fake agents?
You have to carefully check the information and the offers that you are given!
Often you will hear that ‘the irregular migration is the most common way of migration’, ‘this is cheaper option’, ‘this is the quicker option’ or even that ‘this is the only way’ to reach specific country. At the same time there will be no information that it is risky and what are the risks. No one that offers you irregular path will warn you that you may be deceived, asked for additional money and/or left in the midway without any money; that you may get ill and there is a high risk to even die on the way; that there is no guarantee that you will be able to receive a legal status if you entered the country irregularly and that the rules for providing this status are tighten; that without a legal status you might not be able to find a job and even if you find one it will be more likely exploitation with low pay, for a short time and with no social and health insurance. Very often those that tell you stories about their successful travel and arrangements in the host country may hide the real situation because they are afraid to lose respect.
Please, use this minimum Check List in order to lower the risks:
- You know what work you will be able to find in the desired country – job offers are publicly available on official websites – for instance: EURES; if possible arrange your job contract and working visa in advance
- You have language and skills for such job/s – you may improve them in advance at home by attending courses
- You found and booked your initial stay at a suitable place – this might be a room in a hostel, hotel or private apartment
- You applied yourself for visa and you received it at the embassy – do not give your passport to other unknown people
- The travel agent is officially registered
- The registration of the travel agent is not recent
- The tickets cover the whole journey – there are no unclear parts of the travel like “you may buy this ticket on the spot”
- You obtained health insurance for the travel yourself at officially registered insurer
If the answers of all the above points are YES then you have high chances to arrive safely as a regular migrant and find a good job.
When someone is considered a regular migrant?
A regular migrant is someone who migrates to another country following the immigration laws and visa processes of the destination country.
In practice, it means that when you enter the country border you have all required valid travel documents such as your passport, your visa, or another type of permit for entry. These documents should have been issued by the relevant authorities – i.e., they are valid and legal, and they help the border authorities to verify your identity, legal status, and purpose of entry. In many cases, migrants shall present evidence of sufficient funds or other documents, specified by the immigration law of the destination country.
To make sure that you have all necessary documents, check with the embassy or consulate of the country you are planning to move to.
When is someone considered an irregular migrant?
An irregular migrant is someone who enters, stays, or works in a country without the legal authorisation or documentation which is required by the country's immigration laws and visa procedures.
If you have entered a country without valid and legal documents means that you will be considered an irregular migrant. In doing so you are risking being arrested and deported to your country of origin. Lacking the necessary documentation also prevents you from access to legal protection and legal rights.
Another way for a person to be considered as irregular migrant is when they overstay their visa or work permit.