Myria, the Federal Migration Centre and independent national rapporteur on trafficking in human beings, published its independent and public annual report “Victims: Seeing Them and Listening to Them” on 8 December 2025. The report draws attention to the psychological vulnerabilities of victims of human trafficking and calls, inter alia, for strengthened training and specialisation of professionals on the specific psychological vulnerabilities and needs of these victims.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, warns that externalised asylum and migration policies must be carefully designed to avoid serious human rights risks. His report highlights how transferring asylum, return, and border control functions to other countries can expose migrants to torture, arbitrary detention, and collective expulsions. Particular risks arise in the external processing of asylum claims, return procedures including “return hubs,” and outsourcing of border control. The Commissioner calls on states to adopt precautionary approaches, safeguard vulnerable people, and ensure transparency and accountability.

Each year, the Immigration Office publishes an activity report. This annual report presents the activities of the Immigration Office over 2024, providing figures inter alia on entry and stay, vulnerable groups, international protection, the fight against irregular migration, return, and misuse of procedures.

When countries outside the EU encourage or organise the movement of migrants to put pressure on the Union or its Member States, this is called the instrumentalisation of migration. This position paper from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) explains what this means, why it matters, and how the EU can respond. It highlights the need to balance measures against political manipulation with the obligation to respect people’s fundamental rights. The paper warns that some responses risk undermining the right to asylum and other protections at the EU’s external borders.

The Fundamental Rights Report 2025 provides an overview of the state of fundamental rights in the EU, highlighting key developments and trends observed in 2024. The report includes a dedicated section on ‘Migration and asylum at the EU’s external borders’, which addresses, among other issues, challenges related to search and rescue operations, incidents of ill-treatment and rights violations at borders, concerns about border procedures under the New Pact, and fundamental rights risks associated with proposed return policies.

This research paper introduces the "IRMIGRIGHT", the first bespoke database of social and labour rights of irregularly staying migrants in twenty-eight European countries. A number of findings emerge from the data analysis, including the fact that, on average, irregularly staying migrants have significantly weaker social rights than labour rights.

In its annual report, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) provides a comprehensive overview of asylum figures for 2024, along with key internal developments and initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and decision-making. The report also addresses upcoming procedural changes, international cooperation efforts, new competences related to statelessness and vulnerable applicants, staffing and organisational improvements, and clarifications on operational and budgetary resources.

This JRC Science for Policy report provides a comprehensive understanding of migration narratives and their impact on public perception and policy. It seeks to equip policymakers and communication professionals with the insights and tools needed to navigate the complex landscape of migration narratives and promote a more nuanced and evidence-based understanding of migration in a political context often tainted by misinformation and divisive rhetoric.

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 report provides a diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Flemish framework for management of economic migration and recommendations for possible areas of reform. The report also presents some of the first empirical analyses of retention and outcomes of economic migrants in Flanders. 

In this annual forecast, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) outlines the 10 migration issues that can shape international migration in 2025. The search for "innovative solutions" to irregular migration and a European Union focusing on return are among the points of attention. 

The report of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (Centre) offers facts and figures on migration flows and migrant populations in Belgium up to 2009

This Eurostat-publication provides a wide range of information on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of migrants.

The King Baudouin Foundation, the European Policy Centre and the Odysseus Academic Network (ULB) have organised a Conference on Family reunification under strain: restrictive vs. flexible policies, on last 17 November

In this study, the UNIZO (Union of the Independent Entrepreneurs in Flanders) outlined a quantified image of the phenomenon of non-Belgian entrepreneurs settled in Belgium

Final Report of the ‘Migration and Global Environmental Change’ project, led by the UK Government Office for Science

At the request of the Flemish Government and European Funds of integration, the University of Ghent carried out a quantitative and qualitative study for better determining the migration of the partners of the non-European nationals towards Flanders and Brussels

The Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism has published its 2010 annual report on trafficking/smuggling of human beings

UNHCR has just released its Statistical overview of asylum applications lodged in Europe and selected
non-European countries

The Norwegian 'Welfare and Migration Committee' (Brochmann Committee) issued a report on the prospects for the Norwegian welfare state in view of increasing immigration

The new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) investigates the involvement of organized criminal groups in the smuggling of migrants from West Africa towards the European Union (EU).

In 2009, EU Member States issued about 2.3 million new residence permits to third country nationals, i.e. to non-EU citizens, a number that represents a decline of about
0.2 million compared with 2008.

In this report a detailed overview is given of the Belgian legislation regarding citizenship.

Law and Practice in Selected EU Member States with Respect to Asylum-Seekers Fleeing Indiscriminate Violence - A UNHCR research project

Joint publication of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM): an Inventory of Institutional Capacities and Practices