Irregular migration: what is known about the phenomenon | Zuwanderung, Flucht und Asyl: Aktuelle Themen | bpb.de

Ways into and out of illegality

Illegal residence may arise and end in various ways. Entering a country illegally – for example by sea to the Canary Islands or by land from the Ukraine to the Slovak Republic – is just one route to illegal residence in the European Union. Likely more frequent is when it follows legal entrance, such as when, a person stays in a country after the tourist visa has expired without a residence permit. There are indications in Italy that 75 % of irregular migrants have entered the country legally, 15 % have come illegally across land borders and 10 % across sea borders. Various combinations of illegal and legal entry, residence and employment may arise. At the same time, numerous transitions between legality and illegality are possible. For example, a person could enter a country illegally, achieve legal residence status by applying for asylum, take up an occupation illegally while waiting legally in the country for asylum to be granted, and then stay in the country without a valid residence permit after the application has been denied. Whether and how irregular immigrants find routes into legality through individual legalisation, for example through marriage or hardship provision, or a collective regularisation programme is strongly dependent on the country and time.

Duration of stay

In the case of irregular migration both limited-term stays and circular patterns of migration are found as well as people settling for an indeterminate period. Stricter border controls tend to lead to an extended period of stay because re-entering the country or moving to and fro is risky. In academic circles this type of phenomenon is also referred to as the "ratchet effect".

Extent

Wherever possible, irregular migrants avoid contact with government agencies as they are threatened with deportation, imprisonment and often also fines or criminal penalties. For this reason it is difficult to represent them with statistics. As a result, it is only possible to estimate the extent of irregular migration. Estimates as to the number of irregular migrants in Europe have, to date, been neither plausible nor reliable, although there have been efforts made to at least generate greater transparency. Based on estimates of varying quality, it is thought that there are between four and seven million irregular migrants in the EU, although this is at best a rough indication as to the magnitude of the phenomenon. Those states with the highest absolute numbers of irregular residents include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland and the United Kingdom. For Germany the stated figures range from 100 000 to a million people.

Trend

Even if it is not possible to give precise estimations as to the extent, it is at least possible to refer to various indicators in order to analyse trends. On the basis of such analyses, there has been a general worldwide assumption since the end of the 1980s that there has been a sharp increase in irregular migration, although there are certainly also countries where current estimates indicate a declining trend. Germany is one of these countries. After appraising available information and indicators, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has come to the conclusion that since 1998 "both illegal migration and the number of illegal immigrants appear to have declined." At EU level the development has been strongly influenced by twelve new states joining the EU since 2004. Firstly, this has reduced illegal residency, since a large proportion of irregular migration in the EU-15 countries stemmed from accession countries; secondly, it appears that illegal residency has shifted from the old to the new EU states.

Origin and motives

Irregular migrants frequently come from nearby countries with a significantly lower level of income, from countries with established historical or current ties with the receiving country, or from countries in which human rights violations or poor economic conditions cause people to emigrate. The same motives for migrating are found among both irregular and regular immigrants: earning and educational opportunities, love, family connections, a desire to travel, the search for protection from persecution, or fear of returning to a (former) area of war or catastrophe. Of these, the greatest importance is attributed to economic motives. Typically, young adults are overproportionally represented among irregular migrants.

Social status

Many irregular migrants have a decidedly entrepreneurial attitude. They are capable of earning their living in markets independently and they overcome material difficulties with the help of relatives, friends, acquaintances and also employers. These people form their network. The possibility of activating such networks is also referred to in academic circles as social capital. At the earlier stages, irregular migrants often do not yet have networks but instead just one or a few contacts upon which they are dependent. This makes them vulnerable to false information, deceit or violence. For longer stays, even extensive personal networks have their limits where major problems are concerned, such as accidents or serious health problems.

Criminality

In Germany, illegal residence is a criminal offence in the eyes of the law; in other countries, such as the Netherlands, it is not. When discussion turns to the association between illegality and criminality, however, generally speaking only such offences are meant as might be committed by a country´s own citizens, such as robbery, assault or theft. Whereas many studies indicate that most irregular migrants avoid criminality in this sense in order to minimize the risk of discovery , a more recent study observes an increase in criminality among irregular migrants in the Netherlands. This is explained by the increasingly restricted employment opportunities resulting from more stringent laws. However, irregular migrants may also be the victims of criminality, not just perpetrators, especially in connection with human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and exploitation in the workplace.

Employment

Nowadays it can be assumed that irregular immigrants in Europe largely resort to informal markets. This has by no means always been the case, nor is it so now in every part of the world. It is estimated, for example, that in the USA the majority of irregular migrants with forged or borrowed papers hold legally declared jobs. The jobs themselves are often in the services industry and are characterised by any – or typically all – of the following factors : they are relatively unattractive for the indigenous workforce, are tied to one place and are difficult to monitor. Depending on the country and region, the key sectors concerned – with varying emphases – are agriculture, construction, domestic service, and the hotel and catering industry. Although people with no residence permit offer their labour within all sectors, employment opportunities are determined by employer demand within the country. Through their employment, wage earners with no residence permit typically interact closely with the legal population and economy.