Policy regimes to manage integration and social cohesion

Different countries have experimented with a range of approaches to manage the integration of migrants. These have been conceptualized in different ways. In practice, countries may change policies and approaches over time, in response to their current sociopolitical context.

Among the dynamics that have influenced recent thinking around integration, three can be highlighted (Appave and David, 2017):

  • A substantive increase in diversity. Although it is a myth to say that societies were homogenous prior to migration, it seemed more plausible to assume migrants would take on the local national identity when the proportion of immigrants were low. During the past decades, the number of people on the move has increased, with people moving for more complex reasons than work. In OECD countries, the largest number of immigrants is also from a greater variety of countries of origin (OECD, 2020). This creates many and different starting points for integration that require policies to consider more complex diversity and new approaches.
  • The influence of the human rights framework. Countries’ policies on integration also became more sensitive to human rights, especially when becoming party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, since the mid-1960s. Greater respect for cultural and religious difference walks hand in hand with the prohibition of discrimination based on these grounds.
  • Increased connectivity. Technological advancements in transportation and communication have enabled an unprecedented possibility for people to be connected across the globe. This reframes migrants’ experience of settlement and immersion in the receiving society, as they can cultivate cultural ties with their other home(s). It is less probable or reasonable to expect that migrants become fully immersed in the culture of the receiving society. More commonly, migrants develop plural identities that are well connected to all their homes.

Other factors that have impacted discourses and policies concerning migrants include the re-emergence of nationalism and populism in various countries (see, for instance, Kaufmann, 2017). The COVID-19 pandemic has also required rethinking of migrant integration policies. As discussed in the interlinkage on Migrant integration during times of pandemic: Lessons learnt from COVID-19, public health issues had to be balanced with public perception, which was often driven by fear that migrants would transmit the virus.

Different approaches to integration

Many conceptualizations of policy regimes to manage the integration of migrants emphasize the social and cultural aspects of integration. They recognize a continuum of approaches to how migrants are expected to relate to the values of the receiving society. On one end of this continuum are approaches that openly encourage migrants to maintain, express and even celebrate their cultural legacies. Some of these approaches may also emphasize cultural interchange and the celebration of diversity. On the other end of the continuum are approaches that expect migrants to downplay and even relinquish their cultural repertoire as part of a process of fully adopting the values, norms and customs of the new society. See Bauloz, Vathi and Acosta (2019) or Appave and David (2017) for an overview of such discussions.

Other policy analyses focus on the extent to which policies are rights based, prevent inequalities by providing equitable opportunities, or offer possibilities for inclusion and participation in society, including in decision-making processes (Rutter, 2013).

To inform policymaking, it is helpful to consider how all these aspects interplay and the extent to which policies will promote integration or result in some form of exclusion, segregation or even marginalization. The table below suggests this line of thinking by considering two dimensions: cultural identity maintenance and social mixing.

Approaches may support the retention and expression of cultural identities, but in a way that separates cultural minorities from the mainstream society; for instance, by creating institutions specifically for migrants, such as schools. Other efforts that limit migrants’ participation in society can end up segregating migrants by facilitating their incorporation into certain areas of society (mainly the labour market) but denying access to others (such as social services or political participation). This may be based on the assumption that migrants’ stay in the country will be temporary. In practice, however, where conditions of entry and stay severely limit rights, possibilities for access to education, services or the labour market, and participation in social and civic life, migrants can be vulnerable to marginalization and even to situations of exploitation and abuse.

There are three main elements that underpin the process of integration:

  • inclusion in different areas of society, services and institutions, including through participation in social and civic life;
  • social cohesion, based on trust, solidarity and a sense of belonging that embraces the diversity migrants bring to the society; and
  • rights to prevent discrimination and enable both inclusion and social cohesion (for more, see International law and principles in this chapter).

Policies that promote integration and social cohesion will have to consider the most context-appropriate ways to foster these elements.

Targeted and mainstreamed policies

The cross-cutting nature of the integration process raises the question of whether policies related to service provision should target specific migrant populations, or whether they should mainstream integration support in national policies that serve the whole population.

 Mainstreaming frames diversity as an issue that concerns the whole of society. On this model, diversity should be prioritized in policies across various sectors, not only in policies relating to migration. Mainstreamed policies focus on encouraging contact and interactions among migrants and between migrants and non-migrants, and on encouraging migrant participation in the activities, events, institutions and decision-making process of society (Scholten, Collett and Petrovic, 2017).

On the other hand, targeting policies to migrant groups is driven by the sense that their specific needs would remain unaddressed by mainstream policies, thereby leaving migrants in a situation of disadvantage or vulnerability.

These approaches are not mutually exclusive. In fact, combining mainstreaming with sensitivity towards specific groups can work best (OECD, 2020; Patuzzi, 2020). Targeted interventions can generate long-term savings if the knowledge they accumulate – about a population’s needs and how to meet them – is systematically channelled into mainstream services (Patuzzi, 2020). A combination of tailor-made and mainstream approaches that accompany migrants from pre-departure through the full inclusion of themselves and their native-born children is seen as the best way to make integration policies “future ready” (OECD, 2020). Such a combined approach can be understood as efforts to diversity-proof mainstream policies.

Image / Video
Figure 4. Approaches to policies on integration
Source

Based on discussions in OECD (2020) and Patuzzi (2020).

Note: These arguments are not exhaustive.

Policy Approaches
Making services more responsive to diverse needs
  • Build the intercultural capacity of staff who provide services.
  • Bring in cultural mediators (for example, to hospitals), as appropriate.
  • Balance standard services with specialized targeted support (for example, on legal matters, employment and health needs), especially to vulnerable groups.
  • Recognize and work with civil society organizations, which often provides this support.
  • Involve migrants in the planning and implementation of targeted services (for example, as cultural mediators).
  • Explore different funding models, as well as performance indicators and metrics, to enable the incorporation of targeted policies within mainstream services.
Source

Based on Patuzzi, 2020; OECD, 2020; IOM and United Kingdom Home Office, 2020.

To Go Further
Multilevel governance of integration

Multilevel coordination refers to interaction and joint coordination between the various levels of government. Responsibilities regarding immigration and integration at national and subnational levels vary significantly across different governments, reflecting differences in roles as well as in relations between levels of governance. The general immigration and integration policy frameworks are usually the sole responsibility of the central national government. Subnational authorities – such as regions, states and cities – also have responsibility for integration policies in fields such as employment, education, housing, health and social services.

Instruments and mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation between different levels of government can be developed formally or informally. They may include intersectoral advisory bodies and working groups, forums, networks, programmes and strategies outlining indicators and areas of intervention. They are most effective when they involve not just actors from different areas of government but also non-State stakeholders, such as actors from the private sector and civil society. In any case, the role of each stakeholder should be defined, and instruments to address differences in perspectives and approaches should also be developed.

It is important to ensure that all relevant parts of government are involved in identifying, sharing and addressing emerging migration and integration issues, and there are several different strategies for doing so. In general, strategies for multilevel governance frameworks at the national level can be described as either centralist or decentralized:

  • Centralist frameworks (top down) have a clear hierarchy and division of competences between government levels.
  • Decentralized frameworks (bottom up) follow the principle of subsidiarity; that is, what can be done locally should be done locally. In practice, local authorities formulate and implement policies while ensuring coherence with national-level policies and guidelines. This may require the establishment of standards in order to ensure a consistent approach across the national territory.
Example
Centralist and decentralized approaches to multilevel coordination

Centralist approaches in Portugal

Since 2007, Portugal has strengthened its national integration framework by establishing a coordination mechanism that has overseen policy development, implementation and evaluation. The High Commission for Migration sits in the Office of the Prime Minister and coordinates with all relevant government departments and agencies. Following a consultation with stakeholders across different levels of government that also involved non-government stakeholders, it determined that integration support would be provided through a network of local centres that function as a “one stop shop” for all migration matters. Each “centro local de apoio ao imigrante” (CLAI) brings various institutions and services under one roof to facilitate migrants’ access to information on rights, requirements, responsibilities, possibilities.

Institutions represented at each CLAI can include: Authority for Working Conditions; Central Registry Office; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Health; Foreigners and Borders Service; Social Security. There are also support offices focused on areas like housing, qualification, employment and entrepreneurship, family reunification, legal matters, among others. Intercultural mediators, often times migrants themselves, are present to support migrants accessing the information they seek in their language (offering 14 languages in person).

Decentralized approaches in Switzerland

Since the 1990s, migrant integration policies in Switzerland have emerged from the bottom up. Cities with larger migrant populations were the main mobilizers of an integration policy coordination framework at the national level, with less involvement of the cantonal (regional) level. They pioneered integration concepts, which came to be agreed and defined in national legislation in 2000, and that are now implemented by cantons. There is now also a tripartite commission that brings together the federal, cantonal and municipal authorities. This commission reports on the development of Swiss integration policies, organizes regular national integration conferences and conducts integration dialogues with civil society across the country.

Source

Portugal, High Commission for Migration, CLAIM Network, n.d.; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) , 2017.

To Go Further

The importance of the local level

Local authorities have a special role to play in managing the integration of migrants because cities, suburbs and villages are where migrants live and where the integration and social cohesion processes unfold. Local authorities are responsible for addressing the immediate needs of migrants, including through providing access to basic services and access to rights in the fields of education, health-care services, social protection, training and employment services, housing and transport.

They are important stakeholders in the development and implementation of migrant integration policies. They often partner with non-governmental actors to deliver services and support, and can therefore help implement the whole-of-society approach that is recommended in international commitments such as the Agenda 2030 or the Global Compact for Migration. They also have valuable information on migrants’ profiles and needs; on the conditions that are necessary for their integration; and on the challenges and opportunities related to that process. The Global Compact for Migration explicitly acknowledges and mainstreams local authorities’ involvement in migration management throughout its objectives.

Yet local authorities are not always considered in national policymaking processes on migration. Sometimes they struggle to provide the support that migrants and local populations need. The demographic context may be very different between the local and national levels, and may be accompanied by distinct labour market situations or public attitudes towards migration. Without resources to adequately accommodate newcomers, infrastructures at the local level may not suffice, social tensions can arise, and migrant integration can be undermined.

Funding for subnational authorities is therefore an important consideration in multilevel coordination. Sometimes governments provide local authorities with lump sums based on the number of migrants they receive. However, migrants have different needs that will require different interventions and costs (OECD, 2020 a). Cities usually rely on revenue sources such as (1) intergovernmental transfers, both conditional and unconditional; (2) local revenue generation through local taxes and service charges; (3) borrowing from capital markets; and (4) public–private or public–civic partnerships. All four sources require careful institutional design, financial capacity and political openness (UN DESA, 2020).

It is important to consider how to build capacities at the local level. Sharing experiences and practices has become a useful resource for cities to find inspiration on how to address the opportunities and challenges migration brings. Different initiatives at both national and international levels have been organized to maximize this. Such initiatives provide, for instance,  a database of good practices, communities of practice, and trainings and instruments to advise and help local authorities to face challenges regarding integration, such as interreligious dialogue or human rights protection. Evaluations, pilot projects and research can all be strategies to further support cities, to identify effective approaches and to upscale them (OECD, 2020a).

Example
International initiatives supporting tackling migrant integration challenges at the local level

Intercultural cities programme

The Council of Europe has developed a programme to support cities in managing diversity by taking an interculturalist approach. The programme is a capacity-building initiative that also offers a platform for local authorities to connect through communities of practice (the Intercultural Cities Networks that organize the global International Network by geographic areas). Cities joining the programme will fill in a questionnaire that the Council of Europe analyses to provide recommendations as well as tools to facilitate policymaking, including a database of good practices, city profiles, handbooks, step-by-step guides and policy briefs. The Council of Europe also supports study visits as well as dialogue with both non-governmental actors and government authorities at other subnational and national levels to best support tailor-made policies on migrant integration.

Although the initiative was developed by the Council of Europe, there are non-European local authorities from Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Morocco and the United States of America among the 135 cities.

 

Regional Development and Protection Programme

The Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP) is a European Union action that seeks to improve the protection of refugees and migrants and to provide alternatives to the risks of irregular migration by facilitating dignified living conditions and opportunities. The programme also works with receiving societies and supports their welfare and resilience. As the name indicates, it has a two-pronged approach, focusing on protection as well as development.

The programme timeline covers 2019 to 2022, during which time two phases run in parallel. Programme activities focus on integration in the North African countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. For instance, activities strive to improve the self-sufficiency of target groups; improve access to, and quality of, services for target groups and receiving communities; and increase social cohesion. Activities to achieve this build on good practices regarding service delivery methods that respond to the protection, socioeconomic and labour market inclusion needs of displaced groups. Although governments, local authorities and the private sector were involved in previous phases, the third phase focuses on civil society organizations.

Source

Council of Europe (CoE), 2019; IOM, n.d.; European Commission, n.d.

Policy Approaches
Improve multilevel governance of migration
  • Develop coordination mechanisms between public authorities at all levels to identify and address emerging migration and integration issues.
  • Design accountability mechanisms that enable transparency and complement capacity-development and coordination efforts, such as evaluations.
  • Upscale and mainstream the most successful local integration initiatives.
  • Consider and plan funding options to ensure local authorities are properly resourced.
Source

OECD, 2020a.

To Go Further
Alignment between pre-departure and post-arrival support for integration

The integration process is part of the larger migration process and is therefore interlinked with motivations to move and settle, and the conditions of migrants, pre-departure and post-arrival.

Pre-departure support is relatively common. Countries like Canada or Australia have been providing orientation activities since 1998 (OECD, 2020[ b). Measures to help migrants prepare for their move and, once in the country of destination, to facilitate migrants’ arrival and initial integration have existed for years. However, these are not commonly interlinked. Yet, coordinated support measures in the pre-departure and post-arrival phases create a continuum of support for migrants and help facilitate a sustainable integration process.

Example
Pre-departure and post-arrival support to facilitate the socioeconomic integration for resettled refugees in the European Union: the “LINK IT” programme

LINK IT is an innovative project that supports the integration of Syrian refugees resettled from Jordan, Lebanon or Turkey to Germany, Portugal, Romania or the United Kingdom. It is funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), and implemented by IOM.

The project focuses on strengthening the link between pre-departure and post-arrival integration support. LINK IT activities include the development and piloting of a pre-departure skills profiling tool, tailored post-arrival support and products and information sessions for receiving communities.

Source

IOM, n.d.

Pre-departure support

Pre-departure orientation programmes help prepare migrants to engage with the receiving communities and the country’s services and institutions. They equip migrants with knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for their integration, and they address expectations about life at destination. They are provided to migrants who meet certain eligibility criteria. For instance, countries of origin may require that people who are moving within the context of a bilateral labour migration agreement first complete pre-departure orientation.

Pre-departure actions could include:

  • Identifying the specific needs of migrants, paying attention to gender considerations, the rights of the child, and vulnerabilities of persons. Through needs assessments, these activities can prepare the appropriate referrals in the country of destination for migrants with special health and education needs.
  • Providing basic information about the country of destination and its institutions. This could include information on legal migration processes and requirements; general information on the country (including history and climate) and daily life information (access to the health and education system, banking systems, local transportation systems, the justice system); and information on migrants’ rights and responsibilities. It could also information on social values, rights and duties, and cultural questions, including gender considerations.
  • Offering labour information. This could include relevant data on access to the labour market, on job searches, on procedures for recognition of qualifications and competences, on safety in the workplace, on contractual arrangements, and on the rights and duties of workers and employers.
  • Developing skills tools. This could include language training, technical courses or workshops on living and working in multicultural environments, whether in person or through online learning.

Pre-departure support measures are always adapted to the countries that migrants are from and the countries that they are going to. Collaboration between countries of origin and destination is crucial to reinforce the best results of these pre-departure measures and to ensure consistent messaging across all activities. These measures could be funded by countries of destination in collaboration with countries of origin or through international actors such as NGOs.

Pre-departure orientation programmes by countries of origin and destination

Pre-arrival services for migrants moving to Canada

The Government of Canada works with organizations all over that world that provide pre-arrival services and support for migrants moving to Canada. For instance, some services are based in China, the Philippines or India. Some organizations provide services and information online, thereby serving migrants from any country. These organizations provide newcomers with relevant, accurate, consistent and timely information that they need to make informed decisions about their relocation. This can include:

  • General information about living in Canada;
  • Orientation to education, health care, housing and transportation in Canada;
  • Needs assessment;
  • Referrals to community services;
  • Specialized programming for youth between the ages of 12 and 19, such as connections to youth mentors.

Some of the services provided are targeted to specific groups and their needs (such as refugees or francophone migrants). Additionally, Canadian provinces and territories often have further pre-arrival support services, as well as support services in Canada, including information about their communities and guides to help migrants adjust to local life.

Online pre-departure orientation seminar for Filipino emigrants to the United States of America

The Philippine Government, through the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, runs an online pre-departure orientation seminar for outbound Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) heading towards the United States of America. The seminar is mandatory and free of charge. It aims to prepare migrants to better adjust to a new culture and language, and to give information about permanent settlement overseas. It covers topics such as the documents needed for travel, obtaining identification documents in the United States, coping with culture shock, finding a house, acquiring health insurance, building support networks, finding a job, managing finances and maintaining ties with the Philippines.

Source

 IOM Canadian Orientation Abroad, n.d.; Government of Canada, 2021;Commission on Filipinos Overseas, n.d..

Post-arrival support

“Welcome initiatives” are a collection of actions, services and information packages that aim to give newcomers the best chance to arrive and settle successfully. These initiatives can address the general and specific information and support needs of newcomers. Examples of initiatives include:

  • Creating a communication strategy to inform migrants of their rights and responsibilities (read more in Communicating on migration);
  • Providing translation and interpretation services;
  • Offering sociocultural orientation that provides information on, for instance, migrants’ rights and responsibilities, access to services and institutions;
  • Proactive planning and work with service providers, such as using information gathered pre-departure on health or education needs to connect migrants with relevant support services;
  • Preparing receiving communities through sensitization, training, and capacity-building. The goal of the training is to help communities plan for the arrival and integration of newcomers, as well as sensitizing them to the importance of this planning, so that things go smoothly and benefit everyone (see the good practice box below);
  • Identify the specific needs of migrant populations, such as psychological counselling, educational reinforcement and health measures, and connecting them with support services.
Example
Welcoming initiatives

New Zealand Welcoming Communities

Welcoming Communities is an initiative of Immigration New Zealand working in partnership with the Office of Ethnic Communities, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Human Rights Commission, local authorities and citizens. Local councils work with their communities to build connections between locals and newcomers so that everyone feels included and feels that they belong.

Immigration New Zealand supports the initiative by sharing knowledge, by creating standards that benchmark good practices, by helping communities to be ready to reach those standards (for example, through the design of a tailored “welcome plan”), by accrediting them when they do, by funding activities and by showcasing success.

According to this initiative’s 2019 evaluation (MartinJenkins, 2019), communities that make newcomers feel welcome are likely to enjoy better social outcomes, greater social cohesion and stronger economic growth. Similar initiatives are organized in Australia, Canada, Europe and United States of America as part of a wider international network.

Source

Government of New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

This reception and orientation support can be provided by different actors, including national and local authorities, NGOs, or others. After the initial moment, early integration support tends to be provided more centrally through public services. Such initiatives can include:

  • Offering language learning opportunities;
  • Facilitating labour market integration through programmes such as skills training, work placement and mentoring. Using pre-departure information on migrants’ skills (for example, a skills profiling tool) is particularly helpful;
  • Promoting interaction between newcomers and local populations, for instance through volunteering opportunities or cultural activities;
  • Facilitating contacts with diaspora and migrants’ associations in the country;

Supporting family and child integration through sports and mentoring programmes.

Example
European Union skills profiling tool for third-country nationals

This tool was developed in 2017 as part of the European Skills Agenda and is part of the Europass platform that was launched in 2020. It is a web tool, to be used on a voluntary basis, free of charge. Migrants complete an online questionnaire about whether they can perform tasks.  These tasks are typical tasks of certain jobs. The questionnaire is available in multiple languages. The migrant’s responses produce a profile based on their skills. Services that are helping migrants can use this information to offer guidance, identify upskilling needs or support job searching and job matching.

Source

European Commission, n.d.

To Go Further

 

Support for integration extends far beyond this early period; inclusion and social cohesion need to continue to be promoted. For long-term measures across different areas, see Sectoral approaches to integration. For measures that focus on receiving societies’ attitudes towards migration more broadly, and that are also relevant for long-standing migrants, see Addressing discrimination and promoting connectedness.

Image / Video
Figure 5. Support through the migration integration continuum: From pre-departure to early integration
Policy Approaches
Supporting early integration of migrants
  • Prepare and deliver pre-departure activities to migrants. This will require coordination between the countries of origin and destination.
    • Ensure that training curricula at pre-departure and post-arrival are consistent and accurate, in order to maintain the credibility and timeliness of messaging, and to manage realistic expectations of migrants before arrival;
    • Incorporate diversity and inclusion into pre-departure and post-arrival orientation, with a focus on migrants with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ migrants;
    • Ensure training materials are age and gender appropriate;
    • Make activities accessible to potential migrants. For instance, provide information in different languages; as well, provide child-minding, financial and transportation support to facilitate the participation of people who live farther away;
    • Commission impact studies on pre-employment orientation (PEO), pre-departure orientation (PDO), and post-arrival orientation (PAO) approaches, in order to gather accurate data about the effectiveness of these services.
  • Collaborate with actors at different levels and sectors of government, as well as with communities and non-governmental actors, to provide post-arrival support measures, taking both targeted and mainstreamed approaches.
  • Pay attention to different demographics (such as age and gender) when developing a strategy for migrant integration.
To Go Further
Source

 

 

Leveraging the potential of digital solutions

Some countries have been exploring the potential of digital tools to provide support for migrants. Digital tools can be used to provide pre-departure information and have further uses well after arrival. Apps, websites and online courses allow migrants to explore information at their own pace, in their own language and in a way that is cost efficient. The possibilities that digital platforms provide for connectivity and interactivity create opportunities to target support to migrants and to connect migrants among themselves. (See a description of the Electronic Personal and Health Record [E-PHR] initiative, which is an example of targeted support, in Health and migration.) These strategies are particularly helpful when physical distancing is an issue, as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While these approaches seem to be helpful innovations, more research is needed to know how effective these digital tools can be. For instance, it is already known that while digital learning expands possibilities for language acquisition, it does not replace face-to-face training (OECD, 2020a).

Example
Digital solutions supporting migrants pre-departure and post-arrival

Information about Sweden

Information about Sweden is a website that offers information to newcomers coming to Sweden. It aims to function as a one stop shop for all information needs of migrants and refugees. It provides information on housing, education, employment, integration, community, health, residence permit and civic society. It also includes a language introduction to the most useful terms for the newly arrived who have to navigate new systems.

The portal has been developed in cooperation with reference groups, and makes information available in several languages: Swedish, English, Somali, Arabic, Dari, Persian, Russian, French, Spanish, and Tigrinya.

 

Migapp

Developed by IOM, the MigApp was designed to help migrants make informed decisions during their journey and to support them after arrival. It provides reliable and secure information to support migrants in moving in safer and regular ways, in better navigating services and norms in the new country, and in maintaining connections to family and friends. Information is sourced from civil society, national institutions and local authorities.

It includes, per country, information on:

  • Travel risks (for example, conflicts or natural disasters);
  • Entry requirements (for example, a visa or vaccination);
  • Services and support programmes (for example, assisted voluntary return and reintegration programmes, medical assessment programmes, global counter-trafficking hotlines).

It also offers features to:

  • Save travel documents in a secure way (access through the MigApp account on any device, even if the phone is lost);
  • Share one’s location with contacts;
  • Help migrants communicate with doctors by providing translations of typical doctor–patient interactions;
  • Compare low-cost transfers, to assist in sending remittances in cost-efficient ways.
  • Share individual stories.

Bilbao’s resource guide

The online resource guide is a live document, up-to-date and in keeping with the needs of the citizens. It is open to everyone who needs general information on services in the city and is provided in seven languages. The guide is an initiative of the Bilbao City Council that emphasizes the guide as a tool to improve people’s quality of life and to continue developing Bilbao as a city where all have a place.

Source

MOOCs4inclusion, n.d.; Informationsverige.ge, n.d.; IOM, n.d.; Kompani, 2018; Bilbao Council's Website, n.d.

To Go Further
Key messages
  • Integration is a multidimensional process that extends beyond the incorporation of migrants into the labour market or public services and involves the development of social bonds through which migrants become part of their new communities. It requires policy interventions in fields that are interrelated (psychological, linguistic, cultural, civic, economic, social, legal, political).
  • To effectively facilitate integration, policies must promote the inclusion of migrants in all areas of society, services and institutions. At the same time, promoting trust and solidarity to foster social cohesion is central. Both efforts require observing rights and non-discrimination.
  • A mix of targeted and mainstreamed approaches is important to support migrants’ settlement and to promote diversity without losing sight of the needs of specific groups.
  • Linking and coordinating support measures in the pre-arrival and post-arrival phases will facilitate a sustainable integration of migrant population.
  • Leveraging the potential of digital solutions will help to facilitate integration.
PreviousInternational instruments, initiatives and dialoguesNextSectoral approaches to integration