Accessing the Danish Labour Market: On the Coexistence of Legal Barriers and Enabling Factors

Historically, Denmark was a “first-mover” as a signatory to liberal international humanitarian laws and conventions, especially with regard to refugees. Yet, in recent years Denmark has cherished the role of a different kind of “first mover” – namely as hardliner when it comes to immigration policies. This is evident in the existent political discourse and restrictive immigration policies personified not least in the number of times Denmark has altered (and tightened) immigration regulations. Yet, we demonstrate that, while “barriers” exist in terms of entering Denmark, the Danish labour market structure is such that it ends up facilitating refugees’ integration and legally protecting their labour rights. To be sure, this protection is a way of guaranteeing the rights of Danish workers who would adversely be affected by the proliferation of an unregulated labour market where refugees are compelled to work under worse legal and economic conditions. However, the Danish case ends up being one where, counterintuitively, legal barriers (to entering the labour market) coexist alongside enabling factors (legal guarantees) of refugees’ rights.

Tightening Asylum and Migration Law and Narrowing the Access to European Countries: A Comparative Discussion

This chapter aims to explore and analyse the tangled interplay of political discourses, policies and legislations in the field of asylum and migration that runs across the countries under scrutiny (the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, hereinafter SIRIUS countries). Building on empirical evidence, we highlight some main trends registered across SIRIUS countries: the narrowing and slowing down of access to international protection that results from the recourse to push-back operations and the construction of fences, but also procedures provided by the EU asylum acquis, such as the accelerated procedure. This restraining tendency is even more acute in the field of economic-related migration, where in most of the SIRIUS countries legal entry channels are mostly reserved for those who are considered eligible due to their economic resources or talent, such as high-skilled workers, investors or rich entrepreneurs. These restrictive measures often rely on narratives that question the sincerity of the asylum claim, and criminalise migration and humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, legislative landscapes on migration and asylum are increasingly populated by symbolic laws, which downgrade foreigners’ rights and weaken standards. Their explicit aim is to dissuade migrants from coming to the country, while catering for natives’ fears and responding to domestic electoral consensus-building.

Legal Issues Affecting Labour Market Integration of Migrants in Finland

Finland has only relatively recently become a country of immigration, and as a result most immigration and integration policy legislation is also relatively recent. Since the 1990s, the number of migrants to Finland has increased steadily, motivating the adoption of various policy measures to regulate migration and support integration. From the perspective of migrant labour market integration, the two most important legislative acts are the Aliens Act (FINLEX 301/2004) and the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (FINLEX 1386/2010), which lay out basic labour market integration supports for migrants, and determine who can work in Finland and on which grounds. Finland’s comprehensive residence-based welfare state policies and collective bargaining based labour regulation also shape labour market outcomes for migrants. Immigrants working in Finland are subject to the same labour regulations as native Finnish citizens. There are different justifications for labour market access for different groups of immigrants, depending on from which country they come, and what kind of work they are doing. The chapter will go over the principle legislation regulating migration and migrants working in Finland. Also, the legislative basis for applying for asylum is discussed.

Regulating Fortress Britain: Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Applicants in the British Labour Market

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a detailed overview of the UK legal and institutional factors at the macro-level that can be regarded as decisive for explaining the effective capacity of the country to integrate migrants, refugees and asylum seekers into the labour market. By doing so, we aim to better understand the conditions within which integration policies for migrants, refugees and asylum applicants (MRA) may take place. We begin by providing an insight into the social and cultural context of migration in the UK, firstly by looking at the history of migration and the social and political instabilities of the country. Furthermore, we investigate how legislation concerning migration and asylum has developed within the UK context across the decades and analyse how legislation has been translated by UK policymakers in recent years. We then examine the current constitutional organisation of the British state, highlighting the importance of case law in developing MRA integration. Following this, we outline key legislation concerning the integration of MRA in the British labour market. The chapter then provides a critical overview of the integration strategies (or the lack thereof) promoted at the national level, outlining the institutional challenges that affect integration. We then conclude by highlighting the possible impact that Brexit will have on an already ‘hostile environment’ for migration.

Europe’s Legal Peripheries: Migration, Asylum and the European Labour Market

The participation of foreign nationals in European labour markets is an effective tool that facilitates those migrants enjoying a more fulfilling life, while at the same time contributing to Europe’s wealth and economic and social development. However, many norms that regulate migration and labour migration undermine this spirit by limiting, both directly and indirectly, non-EU nationals’ access to European labour markets.

Governing Through Rituals: Regulatory Ritualism in Czech Migration and Integration Policy

The Czech Republic has become the target of immigration over only the last three decades; currently, migrants compose 4.5% of the population. Governments in the previous decade have supported the vision of short-term labour migration, and foreigners face many administrative obstacles given the difficult legislation. We employ the concept of regulatory ritualism to grasp the distinctive features of the Czech system. Following Power (The audit society. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997) and Braithwaite (Regulatory capitalism: how it works, ideas for making it work better. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham/Northampton, 2008), we see regulation as a ritualised practice that comforts the public and cements the dominant normative order of migration policy. In this chapter, we introduce the historical and political context of migration policy, its institutional design, the Act on Residence of Foreign Nationals in the Czech Republic, the position of foreigners in Czech labour law, Czech integration policy and the consequences of recent institutional design for migrants. The main barriers of integration are difficult administration, poor knowledge of the language and precarious working conditions. Regulatory ritualism, a result of chaotic and unsystematic legislative work, is characterized by losing focus on achieving the goals or outcomes themselves, it establishes a climate of mutual distrust among those actors involved and places obstacles to collaboration between public authorities and migrants themselves.

The Labour Market Needs Them, But We Don’t Want Them to Stay for Good: The Conundrum of Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Integration in Italy

Italy is a very complex case of migration management and of foreign workers’ integration in the labour market. Both have developed in the grip of structural national limits, due to the economic and social structure of the country, but also to its political culture and legal framework. Work is certainly among the most effective instruments for ensuring the effective integration of foreigners into the social fabric of the host country. However, the chapter discusses the many obstacles that hinder the full integration of foreigners into the Italian labour market, especially when they do not have a residence permit for work reasons but are beneficiaries of international and humanitarian protection. Since access to work for beneficiaries of international and humanitarian protection is still very complicated, there is a strong risk that the progressive reduction in the number of permits granted for work reasons and the simultaneous increase in the number of those granted for protection will slow down the process of integration through work. Furthermore, particularly long and complicated administrative recruitment procedures would require a comprehensive review of the legislation to become instruments of social and economic integration and not of marginalization. Against this backdrop, the chapter highlights how the law may abdicate from its empowering purpose to become a concrete barrier for the full enjoyment of newcomers fundamental rights.

Between Reception, Legal Stay and Integration in a Changing Migration Landscape in Greece

Significant transformations in the migratory landscape of Greece have been observed recently. In practice, the mixed flows of migrants and refugees have modified the role of Greece as a migrant-receiving country. Immigration, in terms of either transit or settled immigrants, has become a major policy issue; additionally, it has mobilized national authorities, international bodies as well as formal and informal civil society organizations. Changes in the immigration landscape, along with adverse economic conditions, has led to further efforts by public authorities in the effective management of refugee flows and reducing the risks of irregular stay for a significant number of migrants. Despite significant developments in the legislative framework for the integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (MRAs) into the labor market, their access to employment remains more of a secondary issue for policy actors.

“Enchanted with Europe”: Family Migration and European Law on Labour-Market Integration

This chapter explores the European legal platform for alleviating the main barriers in the labor market integration of dependent family migrants in the EU. Namely, the chapter looks at the work of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in relation to cases that involve recognition of professional qualifications and establishment of residence status. The study looks at how family reunification provisions, EU citizen status and in particular provisions for EU citizens and their family members when they move to another Member State, affect indirectly the status situation of third country nationals and their labour market integration by facilitating or hampering the recognition of their skills. This chapter is based on desk research, notably literature review (including published reports from the SIRIUS research) and analysis of legislative documents (EU Directives and ECJ case-law). We specifically look at the ECJ case-law on status and recognition and at related Directives involving family migrants. We study conditions under which the ECJ makes a decision in favour of the migrant-plaintiff. The discussion of our findings shows a complex interplay between family migration, gender bias and European law.

Migrant Integration and the Role of the EU

This chapter first takes a look at the drivers that led to an EU framework for the integration of legally residing TCNs. It then traces the development of the most important instruments from the Treaty of Amsterdam to the Juncker Commission (2014–2019), which declared migration management and the need for effective migrant integration policies as being among the top political priorities for the EU (Juncker 2014; COM(2015) 240). It examines the Union’s legislative framework in the field of migration, as well as its wider toolbox elaborated to contribute to immigrant integration. The chapter concludes with a discussion of some of the most important challenges that hinder fair and effective integration in the EU.