This ad hoc query examines the ways in which EMN Member and Observer Countries calculate periods of absence in the context of applications for an EU Long-Term Residence Status, which requires 5 years of continuous residence. Additionally, this ad hoc query inquires about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in EMN Member and Observer Countries, or any future plans to do so. 

This Inform examines how digital services in legal migration procedures are designed and implemented in EMN Member and Observer Countries to ensure accessibility and inclusion for applicants with disabilities and digitally disadvantaged applicants. It looks at how authorities have adapted applications, document submission, appointment booking, communication and information exchange, and case-tracking services in the context of the ongoing digitalisation of legal migration procedures. The analysis is based on contributions from 25 EMN Member and Observer Countries.

This ad hoc query gathers comparative data from EMN Member Countries on the number of citizenships granted annually between 2021 and 2025. It highlights significant disparities in volumes and emerging trends over time, including increases, decreases, or stable patterns. It also provides an overview of the main nationalities acquiring citizenship in selected countries and the different administrative sources used to produce the data.

This ad hoc query examines the extent to which EMN Member and Observer Countries require medical certificates in the context of applications for temporary and permanent residence permits. More specifically, it inquires at what stage in the procedure the medical certificate is requested and what medical conditions are examined.  

This ad hoc query inquires about experiences and practices across EMN Member and Observer Countries when confronted to cases of children born on their territory to an Iraqi mother, and maps provisions in place to prevent these children being born stateless if Iraqi citizenship cannot be passed.

This ad hoc query maps existing legislation and practices across EMN Member and Observer Countries with regard to the determination of the nationality of third-country nationals, including documentation required. Questions are also asked on the registration of nationalities of children born on their territory to third-country national parents.

This ad hoc query provides an overview of which EMN Member and Observer Countries require criminal record certificates in order to issue long-stay visas or residence permits. Details are provided on the categories of third-country nationals exempted from this requirement, the countries from which these certificates are required (country of origin and/or of previous residence), the other types of documents that may be accepted in lieu of a certificate (such as an affidavit), and more.

This ad hoc query maps the status of recognition of Palestine as a sovereign State across EMN Member Countries and the resulting administrative practices regarding statelessness and citizenship for individuals originating from the Palestinian territories. 

This ad hoc query maps the use of both language tests and citizenship tests in the requirements to obtain citizenship across EMN Member and Observer Countries. Information is provided on the language levels, topics tested, and institutions responsible for examining applications, with a particular focus on the testing of adherence to the country’s fundamental values.

This ad hoc query maps the legislation and current practices in EMN Member and Observer Countries regarding the issuance of authorisations to stay for study purposes granted to minors. This mapping includes eligibility criteria, procedural requirements, and information on who assumes responsibility for the minor during their stay in the receiving country.

This ad hoc query examines whether national procedures allow or require immigration officers to request missing or additional information from applicants for legal migration after an initially incomplete application, and, if so, under what circumstances, to what extent, and within which deadlines.

This ad hoc query examines how EMN Member and Observer countries verify that third-country nationals applying for residence permits with the purpose of study have sufficient funds to support themselves during their stay. The query also explores trends in the issuance of residence permits for third-country national students and their family members in recent years.

The 2025 SIRIUS Migrant Education Policy Index introduces a novel framework for evaluating inclusive education policies across 15 EU Member States. Structured around seven key dimensions, the Index highlights existing disparities and effective practices in supporting migrant learners. It underscores the urgent need for systemic reforms to ensure equitable and high-quality education for all students, regardless of migration background. The report advocates for a learner-centred approach prioritising structural flexibility, cultural and linguistic inclusion, and coordinated policy interventions.

This ad hoc query focuses on the implementation of Article 31(2) of Directive 2016/801, which sets out the conditions for notifying mobility of students between two or more EU Member States. The query examines the mobility notification process, existing arrangements in the absence of an official notification process, and the rules applicable to students covered by an EU programme, a multilateral programme involving mobility measures or an agreement between two or more higher education institutions, as opposed to those applicable to students who are not.

This ad hoc query maps the pathways to citizenship in place across EMN Member and Observer countries. The information reported covers the possibility of dual citizenship, the residence, linguistic and economic criteria to obtain citizenship, and the process fees required by responding countries.

This ad hoc query offers comparative information on citizenship tests as part of the naturalisation process. It examines whether EMN Member and Observer Countries organise a citizenship test in order to acquire nationality, the authority or institution responsible for administering and drafting these tests, the topics covered, the connection between language and citizenship components in these tests, measures or sanctions in place to prevent potential misuse, and fees for participating in citizenship tests.

This ad hoc query offers comparative information on existing legislation on the acquisition of citizenship for new generations. It examines EMN Member and Observer Countries’ changes in legislative developments and regulations since 1 January 2020, the prerequisites and requirements embodied in these changes, and the impact of these changes on the procedure for acquiring citizenship.

In response to the growing awareness of the barriers for irregularly staying adult migrants to access higher education, vocational training and employment, the Netherlands sought to map out existing legislation and practices in other EMN Member countries to facilitate this access.

EMN Sweden launched an ad hoc query regarding the derived right of residence of a third-country national family member under Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). These questions were launched in the context of the Swedish Migration Agency’s analysis of the judgment of the CJEU in joined cases C-451/19 and C-532/19 (XU and QP).

Do Member States grant access to the labour market to family members of international students and, if so, to which family members and under which conditions? This ad hoc query launched by Belgium shows that policies and practices in this matter still vary among Member States.

On 25 April 2022, the EMN published its inform on attracting and retaining international researchers, which provides an overview of the means adopted by Member States to enhance attractiveness for international researchers, as well as the main challenges and best practices that they encountered to admit and retain them.  

This EMN inform outlines approaches, experiences and best practices in monitoring, detecting and addressing the misuse of authorisations to reside in the EU for the purpose of study.

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted the ability of international students to enrol in a HEI abroad and to travel to that country to take up studies. How did EU & OECD countries respond? Did they adapt their admission processes? An answer to these and other questions can be found in the Inform.

Integration through acquisition of citizenship has become an important topic in many EU Member States in recent years, as the number of new migrants arriving in the EU has increased in recent years. The EMN study found that citizenship is seen by Member States as either the culmination of the integration process or as facilitating the integration process. However, in most Member States, third-country nationals are not actively encouraged to apply for citizenship.