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During a visit to the prison in Beveren, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration said that more illegally staying detainees are being sent back directly from prisons, through the work of the return counsellors in the detention facilities.
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Main theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: return counselling, prison, detention, illegally staying person
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According to Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, 4.927 persons obtained Belgian nationality in October 2023. The main countries of origin of people who acquired Belgian nationality in October are Morocco, Syria, Romania, Afghanistan and Poland.
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Main theme: Citizenship & Nationality
Keywords: access to nationality, Belgian nationality
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In 2023, the Immigration Office registered a total of 35.507 applications for international protection. This is slightly less than in 2022 when a total of 36.871 applications for international protection had been registered in Belgium.
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Main theme: Data & Statistics
Keywords: asylum figures, application for international protection, asylum applications
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In a press release published today, the UN Refugee Agency called on Belgium and Hungary to use their 2024 European Union (EU) Presidencies as an opportunity to finalize the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and to ensure its protection-sensitive implementation.
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Main theme: International Protection
Keywords: Belgian Presidency, Hungarian Presidency, Council of the European Union
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Today the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, in the presence of all relevant asylum and immigration services, presented the new migration code. This new code aims to clarify procedures, simplify the texts and better fight against abuse.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Migration Code, immigration law, reception law
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According to an announcement from the office of the Brussels Social Minister Alain Maron, 155 additional emergency places are opened today to accommodate homeless or poorly housed people in Brussels. The emergency shelter welcomes everyone, regardless of residence status.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: homeless shelter, extreme cold plan, homelessness
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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) looks forward to cooperating with the Belgian and Hungarian Presidencies of the Council of the European Union and stands ready to offer its continued support and expertise. With a view to building this partnership, the IOM publishes some recommendations on migration and mobility for 2024.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Belgian Presidency, Hungarian Presidency, Council of the European Union, recommendation
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Researcher and author Pascal Debruyne will present his book which contains stories of parents and minors who struggle through the family reunification procedure and stories of care providers who try their best to support these families. Panel discussions will also take place with experts in this field.
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Main theme: Family reunification
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While in the past, Somali applicants from southern and central Somalia, with the exception of Mogadishu, were generally granted subsidiary protection status because of the security situation, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGVS) now concludes that no region in Somalia is characterized by an exceptional situation in which the degree of indiscriminate violence is so high that it reaches the "real risk" threshold leading per se to the granting of subsidiary protection.
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Main theme: International Protection
Keywords: Somalia
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For the next six months, Belgium will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a position it hasn't held since 2010. The Belgian Presidency will be particularly important as it will steer the debates on the European Council’s Strategic Agenda and lead up to the European Parliament elections in June 2024.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Belgian Presidency, Council of the European Union
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As the end of the year is approaching, the team of the Belgian Contact Point to the European Migration Network (EMN) wishes you a happy holiday season. We also wish you and your loved ones, all the best for the new year!
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
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The European Migration Network (EMN), marks a significant milestone this year, celebrating 15 years of dedicated service providing objective, comparable, and policy-relevant information on emerging issues related to asylum and migration. For this occasion, the EMN publishes a document spotlighting its most influential achievements and contributions from 2018 to 2022 at both EU and national levels.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: European Migration Network, impact analysis, 15th anniversary
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After three years of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached an agreement on the core political elements of five key regulations that will thoroughly overhaul the EU's legal framework on asylum and migration.
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In a press release published today, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGVS) announced that it would unblock the suspended cases of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and start again to process all Palestinian cases.
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Main theme: International Protection
Keywords: Gaza, West Bank, refugee status, subsidiary protection status
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Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution wrapping up the fact-finding investigation by the Working Group on Frontex Scrutiny with 366 votes in favour, 154 against, and 15 abstaining. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) inter alia share concerns over the situation in Greece, Lithuania and Hungary.
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Main theme: Borders & Visa
Keywords: Frontex, fundamental rights, EU border agency, search and rescue
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At the Global Refugee Forum this week in Geneva, EU Member States announced their collective pledge for 2024 - 2025: 61.000 new places combined for resettlement and humanitarian admission for people in need of international protection. Of these, 31.000 are for resettlement, to be implemented in close cooperation with UNHCR, and 30.000 are for humanitarian admission.
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Main theme: International Protection
Keywords: resettlement, humanitarian admission
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Social Citizenship and Migration (SCM), which is one of the multidisciplinary programmes launched by Leiden University, will hold a one-day event to feature research on migration and social citizenship from a variety of perspectives and methodologies, including history, political science, sociology, anthropology and economics.
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Main theme: Migration
Keywords: citizenship, governance, public policy
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According to Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, 4.260 persons obtained Belgian nationality in September 2023. The main countries of origin of people who acquired Belgian nationality in September are Morocco, Syria, Romania, Afghanistan and Italy.
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Main theme: Citizenship & Nationality
Keywords: access to nationality, Belgian nationality
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This morning, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo officially presented the program and priorities of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union. From 1 January 2024, Belgium will be at the head of all meetings and negotiations within the Council of the European Union for six months.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Belgian Presidency, Council of the European Union
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The Return Expert Group (REG) within the EMN conducted a successful workshop dedicated to advancing multistakeholder governance towards case resolution of undocumented migrants. Facilitated by EMN Belgium and the Belgian Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil), this event focused on fostering connections between national authorities, local administrations and civil society organisations (CSOs).
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Main theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: undocumented migrants, case resolution, multistakeholder governance
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While a draft law introducing a new right of residence for stateless persons is currently being discussed in Parliament, ENS and Nansen underline that the project has a large number of formal and substantive conditions and reduced procedural guarantees. They conclude that it is not compatible with the obligation to have a fair, effective and accessible procedure for the access of stateless people to their rights.
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Main theme: Statelessness
Keywords: stateless persons, right of residence
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The first 15 asylum seekers have arrived today at the new Fedasil reception centre in Grimbergen. The new reception centre, which will accommodate up to 100 people, is specifically intended for people with medical problems, as well as their families.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception centre, medical care
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On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor, the Council of Ministers agreed today on the extension of support measures for the reception and support of asylum seekers in the Brussels-Capital Region. A total of 2000 places are now available for asylum seekers who cannot immediately get a place in the Fedasil reception network.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: homeless shelter, reception centre, reception crisis
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Myria has published the sixth thematic section of its 2023 annual report. This section entitled "International protection" reports that the refusal rate for asylum seekers from Afghanistan in 2022 is higher in Belgium (56%) than the average for EU countries (47%). In the event of return, some Afghan asylum seekers could risk degrading or even inhuman treatment (prohibited by Article 3 of the ECHR), given the current situation in Afghanistan.
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Main theme: International Protection
Keywords: Afghanistan, refusal rate, inhuman or degrading treatment
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At a conference today, the European Commission proposed new legislation to prevent and fight migrant smuggling and also launched a call to action for a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling.
