Safe Pathways for Refugees: family reunification, study programmes and labor mobility

This OECD-UNHCR mapping exercise examines the use of a subset of complementary pathways for admission by refugees to third counties, focusing on non-humanitarian regular entry visas granted for family, study or work purposes in OECD destination countries since 2010. While UNHCR has data on the number of refugees who have been resettled, achieved local integration and voluntarily returned to their countries of origin, neither UNHCR nor OECD systematically collect data related to complementary pathways used by persons in need of international protection.

This joint effort aims to fill the current absence of comprehensive data on the use of complementary pathways by refugees. It presents an in-depth analysis of the quality of the data and identifies any gaps or data limitations that need to be addressed.

The findings of this report will be of relevance in the development of a three-year strategy (2019–2021) envisaged by the GCR to expand resettlement and complementary pathways, with a view to increasing significantly their availability and predictability. More broadly, this body of work will support the implementation of the GCR, measuring its progress towards achieving a more timely, equitable and predictable sharing of responsibility for the protection of and solutions for refugees.