Why is refugee labour mobility needed?

Many refugees are stuck for years, or even generations, in countries where they do not have the rights of permanent residents or citizens.

In most countries where refugees live, they are not allowed to work legally, or they face significant challenges to working in their fields of training and expertise.

According to the International Labour Organization:

In practice, a range of factors influence refugees’ capacity to access the labour market and find decent work. These include the socio-economic conditions of the host country, legislation and policies around the protection of refugees and the right to work, as well as other practical issues, such as language and administrative barriers. As a result, the reality is that refugee workers are often concentrated in low-skilled, informal employment or under-regulated sectors where they are susceptible to decent work deficits, discrimination and exploitation.¹

Refugees may be vulnerable to arrest or deportation. Their access to health care, education and other social services may be limited, and they may face discrimination, harassment, and limitations on their movement.Many displaced people are urgently seeking ways to relocate to countries where they can live safely, support themselves, pursue their ambitions, or reunite with family while knowing that their rights are secure. Yet fewer than 1% of refugees in need of relocation have access to humanitarian resettlement programs. Many would be hired by international employers, if visa pathways were inclusive of displaced talent.

Refugees also typically face significant barriers when seeking to move across international borders for work. 

Migration policies developed to accommodate foreign workers often overlook the specific circumstances of refugees. Common barriers include: 

• Identity documentation requirements 
• Travel document regulations
• Financial requirements (such as the need to demonstrate sufficient funds for relocation and settlement)
• Skill, qualification and work experience documentation requirements
• The requirement that the foreign worker has a safe country to return to

As a result, many skilled migration programs are uniquely difficult for refugees to access, even when they have all the needed skills and qualifications.

Over the last several years, refugees, employers, civil society groups, multilateral institutions and governments have begun to collectively identify and address the barriers refugees face when trying to move internationally for work.

1. Guiding principles on the access of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons to the labour market, ILO ↩︎