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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2019
What relationship is there between irregular and regular migration? An exploratory study of EU residence permits, asylum applications, and orders to leave
Migration and Demography
irregularvsregular

In policy circles and public debates in Europe, especially since the recent crisis in the Mediterranean, it has frequently been suggested that people have been applying for asylum in or migrating irregularly to European Union Member States due to a lack of other pathways for migration. Conversely, it has also been claimed that opening up more legal channels for migration can reduce the number of people applying for asylum or attempting irregular journeys. However, to support these suggestions and claims, there is little empirical evidence of the extent to which people have actually attempted to access different legal statuses in response to changes in existing migration opportunities.