This Inform, covering developments across 22 EMN Member Countries, as well as Norway and Serbia, explores the use of alternatives to providing in-kind housing for applicants for international protection between January 2020 and October 2025. It examines how such measures were implemented while respecting legal obligations and supporting applicants’ autonomy, addressing their vulnerability, and promoting their integration into society. The Inform focuses on financial allowances and vouchers as alternatives to accommodation provided directly by the state and highlights national approaches and innovative solutions identified across participating countries.

This Inform provides an overview of national policy and legal changes from July 2023 to early 2025 concerning the responsibilities and access to rights of beneficiaries of temporary protection (BoTP) under Directive 2001/55/EC. It maps these changes, provides evidence for decisions on possible financial contributions from BoTP, and offers insights into national strategies after the expiration of temporary protection.

This Inform examines how international protection applicants and accommodation centres are distributed across 23 EMN Member Countries and Serbia, and how such policies are governed and managed. It compares approaches, criteria and mechanisms used by different countries, highlighting both challenges and good practices. The study also looks at how local communities and stakeholders are informed and engaged in the process. Finally, it identifies opportunities for further collaboration to support effective reception and integration.

This inform provides insights into the governance and processes of accommodation for applicants for international protection in EMN Member and Observer Countries. This governance of accommodation is crucial for responding to challenges, such as fluctuating asylum applications, limited housing capacity, and community relations.

In collaboration with the Red Cross EU Office and the Swedish Red Cross, this Inform provides an overview of EMN Member and Observer Countries’ guidance and training on early detection and identification of presumed victims of torture or other forms of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in international protection procedures. It outlines procedural safeguards and guidance for asylum authorities when requesting medico-legal documentation in international protection applications, and it also details practices for identifying victims among beneficiaries of temporary protection to provide medical care, in line with the Temporary Protection Directive.

This Inform, jointly produced by the European Migration Network and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, offers an analysis of employment trends, policy priorities, and measures aimed at facilitating the integration of displaced individuals from Ukraine into host countries' labour markets. 

Most EMN Member and Observer Countries reported pressures and challenges in housing applicants for international protection between 2017 and 2021. This inform highlights the challenges encountered and best practices for responding to the emergency.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of 15 November 2022, more than 7.8 million people have left Ukraine in search of safety, arriving primarily in neighbouring European Union (EU) and third countries. These Informs analyse the arrangements European Union (EU) Member States have put in place for accommodation and housing and access to specific services namely social benefits, education, employment, and healthcare for beneficiaries of temporary protection, in the context of the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) (2001/55/EC), triggered in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

This EMN Inform summarizes the key findings of the corresponding EMN study which aimed to identify good practices and mechanisms to allow for flexible and efficient reception facilities whilst maintaining the quality of reception conditions.