Migrant family reunification: policy and practice
This full day conference provided an opportunity to exchange information on family reunification schemes in Ireland and abroad. Family reunification promotes the integration of migrants already in the host country and can be an important route to safety for the family members of refugees. Family migration is diverse in character but often closely linked to labour migration. Speakers from OECD; UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency; and the International Organization for Migration provided international context. Drawing on the findings of a European Migration Network study, the family reunification policy frameworks in place elsewhere in the EU were discussed and compared. Insights on the Irish system were provided by the responsible authorities as well as I/NGOs working in the field.
Programme
Programme
9:00
Arrival and Registration
9:25
Welcome Address
Alan Barrett, Director, ESRI
9:30
SESSION 1: International Context
Chair: Michael Walsh, Immigration and Citizenship Policy Unity, Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service
An overview of family migration in OECD countries: scale and characteristics
Jonathan Chaloff, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD
Migrant family reunification at IOM: Programme solutions
Patrick Corcoran, Immigration and Border Management Division, International Organization for Migration
Refugee family reunification
Daniela Cicchella, Assistant Representative for Protection, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
10:30
Questions & Answers
10:45
Coffee break
11:00
SESSION 2: Family reunification law and policy in the EU Member States
Chair: Emma Quinn, EMN Ireland, ESRI
Family reunification of non-EU nationals: Ireland in an EU context
Samantha Arnold, EMN Ireland, Economic and Social Research Institute
Family reunification of non-EU nationals in the Netherlands
Hans Lemmens, EMN NCP and Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Security and Justice, Netherlands
Family reunification of beneficiaries of International Protection in France
Julie Wington, Direction de l’immigration, Direction Générale des étrangers en France Ministère de l'Intérieur (General Directorate for Foreign Nationals in France, Ministry of the Interior)
12:00
Address by Minister of State, Department of Justice and Equality, David Stanton TD
12:15
Questions & Answers
12:30
Lunch
13:30
SESSION 3: Family reunification in Ireland
Chair: John Roycroft, Irish Refugee Protection Programme
International Protection and family reunification in Ireland
Brian Merriman, International Protection Policy Unit, Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service
Family reunification – A view from the coalface
Fiona Hurley, Nasc: The Irish Immigrant Support Centre
The Travel Assistance Programme – Effective access to family reunification
Susan McMonagle, UNHCR Ireland
14:30
Questions & Answers
14:50
Closing Remarks