Complementary Pathways of admission
Safe & regulated avenues for refugees that complement resettlement by providing legal stay in a third country where their international protection needs are met.
Complementary pathways are diverse by nature and should be implemented in addition to existing resettlement commitments. Complementary pathways should not substitute the protection afforded to refugees under the international protection regime.
Complementary pathways can benefit refugees in a variety of ways depending on their specific objectives. Some complementary pathways are implemented solely for persons in need of international protection, including humanitarian admission, private or community sponsorship and humanitarian visa programmes. Complementary pathways also include existing legal admission avenues for which refugees may be eligible, such as family reunification, and education or employment mobility pathways. These mainstream entry and migration avenues may require operational adjustments in order to facilitate and broaden refugee access.
Civil society organisations and private actors have been at the forefront of initiating new, innovative pathways that create additional places for vulnerable refugees. To further develop these complementary pathways, NGOs, the private sector and international organisations need to cooperate closely with national authorities to make existing legal migration channels more accessible to people in need of international protection.
Our Actions for Higher Education Pathways
An increasing number of educational complementary pathway initiatives for refugee students have emerged in Europe in recent years. Programmes such as the German DAAD Leadership for Syria and Africa and the Italian University Corridors offer refugees the opportunity to access mainstream student pathways supported by partnerships of national governments, tertiary education institutions and civil society organisations.
A second approach admits refugees under resettlement-based community sponsorship schemes. The most well-known example of this approach is the Student Refugee Program (SRP) in Canada, implemented by the World University Service Canada. Within this programme, universities and/or higher education institutions and volunteer groups made up of students, faculty and staff offer student scholarships for refugees, and support their integration via local support networks.
Through our involvement in the EU Passworld project, the SHARE Network is working with partners in Belgium, Ireland and Italy to widen complementary pathways via improved refugee access to existing work and student programmes. The project explores the potential links between these pathways and community sponsorship, with the aim of ensuring pathways that support their “well-being, to the prosperity and cohesion of European societies”. Through this link with community sponsorship, the project closely aligns with the EU Action Plan for Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027. It contributes to Europe’s commitments to the Global Compact on Refugees and the UNHCR’s 3-Year Strategy on resettlement and complementary pathways, and aims to strengthen refugee self-sufficiency through job placements and study opportunities.
Our Actions for Labour mobility pathways
Refugees bring many skills and talents, including qualifications and work experience in a wide range of professional and essential roles. Labour mobility schemes offer refugees pathways to employment via admission under mainstream national labour visa schemes. In 2018, in the framework of the Global Compact on Refugees, signatory states agreed on the importance of expanding complementary pathways by exploring ways to support refugee labour mobility.
At Share we engage governments, civil society organisations, the private sector and local communities to explore models and best practice for establishing safe and legal pathways to work for refugees, that enable them to access employment, resume their careers and rebuild their lives in dignity.
