Regularizations in the European Union: The Contentious Policy Tool
Despite controversy, EU governments have regularized more than 5 million unauthorized immigrants since 1996, using varied programs to tackle informal work and pursue humanitarian aims.
Though contentious, regularization (also referred to as legalization) remains a frequently utilized policy tool to address the European Union’s unauthorized immigrant population. Since 1996, more than 5 million people have been regularized through a variety of methods, which this Insight details.
Regularizations, which first emerged in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands in the 1970s, have been used as a corrective device in the absence of comprehensive migration policies, both to manage the informal economy and to achieve humanitarian goals.
As detailed in this Insight, the methods and aims of offering regularizations vary, from mechanisms built into policy frameworks to "one-off" programs.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. What Is Regularization? Terms and Approaches
III. Regularization Trends in the European Union
IV. Conclusion
About the Global Program
The Global Program bridges policy advice, research, and candid dialogue to design effective migration policies, drawing on global evidence and anticipating the forces reshaping how people move.
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