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For 10 years now, the Duo for a Job association has aimed inter alia to help eliminate inequalities in access to the labour market for young people with a migrant background. Results are conclusive as seven out of ten young people successfully find a stable job, an internship or training that leads them to the job they initially wanted.
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Main theme: Integration
Keywords: labour market access, mentoring
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The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor is already making it clear that Belgium will not respond positively to the request for relocation of migrants who have arrived in Lampedusa. This position is mainly explained by the shortage of reception places in Belgium.
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Main theme: Asylum
Keywords: relocation
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The Belgian Contact Point to the European Migration Network is looking for an intern to support the team in its mission, including in the framework of the 2024 Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. If you want to expand your knowledge on asylum and migration topics as well as your network in this field, this opportunity may be for you!
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: internship
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The organisation reports a huge increase in the number of vulnerable young asylum seekers who disappear in Belgium. The number of disappearances could double this year, compared to 2022 which had 136 cases.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: unaccompanied minors, disappearance
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Today, the Council of State ruled that the use of the extreme emergency procedure was justified and that the decision not to offer shelter to single male asylum seekers violates the right to reception that asylum seekers have by law.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception law, reception directive, right to reception
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The first residents have arrived today in the reception center in Alveringem (West Flanders). These are Syrian families who were resettled from Lebanon.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception centre, resettlement, resettled refugee
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Today, the European Migration Network (EMN) Belgium was invited to present the results of an upcoming publication to members of the Flemish Agency for Internal Affairs as well as to take part in a coordination meeting between the four integration contact points in Belgium (for Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels, and the German-speaking community).
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Main theme: Integration
Keywords: integration contact point, integration monitoring
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Flanders has published a new list of medium-skilled shortage occupations open to migration which enters into force today. The new list has been adapted to the current economic reality and labor market situation - it now contains 29 positions.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: shortage occupation, labour market
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Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo has written to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to call for the regularisation of undocumented immigrants capable of working in jobs in short supply, reports L’Echo.
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: labour shortage, shortage occupation, regularisation, single permit
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Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor has decided to temporarily stop receiving single males in the national network for the reception of asylum seekers. Through this decision, the Secretary of State intends to anticipate “the growing influx of families and children to absolutely avoid children ending up on the streets in winter.”
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, reception centre, single male asylum seeker
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The Federal Institute is tasked with regularly examining the situation of persons deprived of their liberty through preventive visits, making recommendations to the competent authorities and proposing legislation and verifying its compatibility with international standards.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: detention, human rights, closed centre
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As the Big Data for Migration Alliance unveils the “Harnessing Data Innovation for Migration Policy: A Handbook for Practitioners”, the Egmont Institute organizes the handbook launch to discover how non-traditional data sources shape migration understanding.
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Main theme: Data & Statistics
Keywords: data ethics, data protection, data governance
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Fedasil has a budget for financing specific projects relating to the reception of asylum seekers (and other reception beneficiaries). The Agency has launched its call for projects for the year 2024. In 2024, the focus will be on projects that focus on the activation and participation in society of asylum seekers staying in the reception network.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: call for projects, activation policy, employment
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Today, the first residents have arrived in the new reception centre in Walcourt, which can host 49 asylum seekers. Other residents, mainly families, will arrive gradually over the next few days.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception centre
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In a national study released in July 2023, EMN Belgium reviews the Belgian policy and practice regarding detention and alternatives to detention. The study clarifies which detention places and alternatives to detention exist in Belgium, how the decision-making process unfolds and how detention and its alternatives are actually implemented.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: detention, alternative to detention
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According to Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, 3.721 persons obtained Belgian nationality in May 2023. The main countries of origin of people who acquired Belgian nationality in May 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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As part of his “Turbo Plan”, Flemish Minister for the Interior and Civic Integration, Bart Somers (Open VLD) wants newly-arrived third-country nationals without a high school diploma to undergo training in order to be able to practice a bottleneck profession. This training would be part of the civic integration programme.
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Main theme: Integration
Keywords: civic integration programme, shortage occupation, on-the-job training
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The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration tasked the Immigration Office to implement a prevention campaign to make people in Nigeria aware of the dangers of human trafficking, exploitation and the risks associated with irregular migration.
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Main theme: Irregular Migration
Keywords: prevention campaign, human trafficking, Nigeria
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Myria has published the fourth thematic section of its 2023 annual report. This section entitled "Economic migration, free movement en students" reports that 8.098 long-stay visas were granted for professional reasons to third-country nationals in 2022 (46% more than in 2021) and 19.721 single permits were issued to third-country nationals in 2022 (75% more than in 2021).
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Main theme: Economic migration
Keywords: long-stay visa, single permit, posted worker, student
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During the first six months of 2023, the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders already helped 152 people – mostly refugees – in their search for lost relatives. That is the highest number since 2017. The organisation is looking for volunteers who want to commit at least 6 hours a week to help find the missing relatives.
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Main theme: Family reunification
Keywords: refugee, missing relative
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The CGRS has published the asylum figures for June 2023. The Immigration Office registered 2,740 applicants for international protection. Another 15 persons were registered in the framework of resettlement. As a result, the total number of applicants in June is 2,755.
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Main theme: Data & Statistics
Keywords: asylum figures
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The list of safe countries of origin, which is revised once a year, was updated on 7 April 2023 and is now published in Belgium’s Official Journal. At present, the following countries are considered as safe countries of origin: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and India.
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Main theme: International Protection
Keywords: list of safe countries of origin
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With this awareness campaign entitled "Working together in the fight against human smuggling – Help save lives!", the Police want to encourage both nautical equipment dealers and citizens to report suspicious purchases or movements on the beach to the police via 112, via the 112 app or directly via the 101.
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Main theme: Smuggling & Trafficking
Keywords: human smuggling, awareness campaign, nautical equipment
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Today, in the Committee on Justice of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne announced that Mr. Klaus Vanhoutte, former director of Payoke and one of the experts of the Special Committee on Trafficking in Human Beings and People Smuggling, had been recruited and appointed as national coordinator for the fight against human trafficking and smuggling.
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Main theme: Smuggling & Trafficking
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During two lunch & learn sessions this week, the team of EMN Belgium met around 70 practitioners of the Immigration Office to inform them about the European Migration Network, to invite them to actively participate in the national network, and to explore concrete cooperation opportunities.