3 - Information provision

To realize this commitment, we will draw from the following actions:

(a) Launch and publicize a centralized and publicly accessible national website to make information available on regular migration options, such as on country-specific immigration laws and policies, visa requirements, application formalities, fees and conversion criteria, employment permit requirements, professional qualification requirements, credential assessment and equivalences, training and study opportunities, and living costs and conditions, in order to inform the decisions of migrants;

(b) Promote and improve systematic bilateral, regional and international cooperation and dialogue to exchange information on migration-related trends, including through joint databases, online platforms, international training centres and liaison networks, while upholding the right to privacy and protecting personal data;

(c) Establish open and accessible information points along relevant migration routes that can refer migrants to child-sensitive and gender-responsive support and counselling, offer opportunities to communicate with consular representatives of the country of origin, and make available relevant information, including on human rights and fundamental freedoms, appropriate protection and assistance, options and pathways for regular migration, and possibilities for return, in a language that the person concerned understands;

(d) Provide newly arrived migrants with targeted, gender-responsive, child-sensitive, accessible and comprehensive information and legal guidance on their rights and obligations, including on compliance with national and local laws, obtaining of work and resident permits, status adjustments, registration with authorities, access to justice to file complaints about rights violations, as well as access to basic services;

(e) Promote multilingual, gender-responsive and evidence-based information campaigns and organize awareness-raising events and pre-departure orientation training in countries of origin, in cooperation with local authorities, consular and diplomatic missions, the private sector, academia, migrant and diaspora organizations and civil society, in order to promote safe, orderly and regular migration, as well as to highlight the risks associated with irregular and unsafe migration.”

(GCM ‘Objectives and commitments’, 2018: 10-11)

Facilitating migrants’ access to information requires a people-centered approach to assess what needs and gaps exist. Migrant communities are diverse and outreach needs to take into account factors such as age, language, gender, and education level. Successful implementation will often involve the collaboration of multiple partners from civil society, migrant groups, and local governments. Accurately informing and actively engaging migrants at all stages of their journey is a cornerstone of ensuring safe, orderly, and regular migration.

The Global Compact for Migration (GCM) report is available in AR, ZH, EN, FR, RU, ES.