MIGRATION

The population in Germany is stagnating and the number of workers is decreasing. To avoid a labour shortage in the future, Germany needs about 400,000 immigrants per year, according to Detlef Scheele, head of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). Due to demographic developments, the number of potential workers of typical working age is already decreasing by almost 150,000 …

Osaze Osemwingie-Ero, a former Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, has cried out over the plight of over 300 Nigerian youths, whom he says, are ‘illegally’ detained in Italian prisons for contrived charges on mafia-related offences. At a meeting with officials of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Wednesday, Mr Osemwingie-Ero, disclosed that he learned …

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Implements Workforce Development Program in Kenya with Oracle NAIROBI, Kenya, August 12, 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Oracle today announced that the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in Kenya has finalised a workforce development program for young refugees in Kenya, in collaboration with Oracle University. The UNHCR delivers professional learning courses on Oracle Cloud technologies …

By Aaron Gates-LincolnWriter at Immigration Advice Service and Immigration News The UK immigration system is a harsh and brutal environment for all migrants. It is designed to be a treacherous journey through a cruel and intricate jungle of tests, detention, interrogations and application processes; all trying to prove authenticity and deservedness. However, it is clearer now than ever that LGBT+ …

The analysis of refugees’ mobile phone data to ascertain their identity violates their fundamental rights. This was the decision of the Berlin Administrative Court while ruling in the case of a 44-year-old Afghan woman. The verdict puts a question mark on the controversial practice to which the authorities sometimes resort to establish the true identity of asylum-seekers —- The controversial …

The commission set up by the federal government to look into the causes of flight and irregular migration has presented its report, recommending 15 key measures for the effective mitigation of these causes. —– An Expert Commission on the Causes of Flight appointed by the Federal Government in July 2019 has called for a more comprehensive political approach to combating …

The European Union has spoken out in defence of Spain, after thousands of migrants from Morocco entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in north Africa. “Europe expresses its solidarity with Ceuta and Spain,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday (18 May), in a tweet. At least 6,000 migrants, including mothers cradling children and whole families, reached …

The issue of accommodation provision for individuals seeking asylum within a country has recently been a topic heavily discussed in the field of immigration studies. In contribution to this, a new report by British Red Cross has highlighted how the UK asylum system is deeply flawed, and has caused increasingly negative impacts on the mental health of individuals seeking asylum. …

An alliance of humanitarian and rights organisations are calling for the abrogation of the legal obligation to report people without residency status who seek medical care —– Almost 50 organisations and associations are demanding the abolition of the legal obligation to report people without regular residence status who seek medical care. Going to the doctor without fear is not possible …

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has launched a new project in Abuja, Nigeria, to raise awareness of the scourge of human trafficking among populations at risk in migration prone areas across the country. The 23 March launch marked the tenth anniversary of the Nigeria–Switzerland Migration …

Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. has been honoured with yet another award for its efforts for the empowerment of African women in Germany. Maisha, founded in 1996 by Virginia Wangare Greiner, was recently bestowed with the “Corporate Livewire West Germany Prestige Award 2020/21” for being the best “Self-Help Group of the Year”. The organisation was honoured especially for …

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state and civic leaders have finalised a plan to improve the integration of immigrants into society, the education system and the job market. It outlines a road map for the coming decade. Kathleen Schuster/DW reports Getting a job might have been once been considered enough to be successfully integrated into society as a foreigner. For Germany, …

Nigeria and Switzerland have commemorated the 10th anniversary of a partnership on migration between the two countries. To mark the event, a mobile information campaign bus and a brochure on the “10 Years Migration Partnership Between Nigeria And Switzerland” were launched at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, on Tuesday. The Blue Bus, a “one-stop office for Public Enlightenment and …

The EU’s border protection agency Frontex says the number of irregular border crossings at Europe’s external borders dropped by 40 percent in the first two months of 2021, compared to the same period last year, to 12000. For example, the number of illegal border crossings in February reached 4 650, about half the figure from the same month of last …

Cameroonian officials, led by Minister for Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, have repatriated over 5,000 Nigerian refugees to the north-eastern Borno State. According to a statement on the Facebook page of Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, the handing over took place on Monday in Amchiide, a border community between Nigeria and Cameroon, close to Banki in Bama Local Government Area …

The Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR), said the current situation in the country would likely drive many more Nigerians into irregular emigration. Mr Solomon Okoduwa, Executive Director of IYAMIDR, who is a former aide to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Illegal Migration, made this known in an interview with NAN in Benin …

How an IOM frontline worker goes beyond return counselling by providing African migrants in Germany with the support they need Berlin – It is a full day for Danielle Al-Qassir at the foreign immigration office in Berlin. “I have clients calling me on my work phone, my private phone and the landline, and we have clients coming in in-person,” she …

The number of asylum applications in Europe fell by almost a third last year. A total of 461,300 applications, 31 per cent fewer than in 2019, were filed, according to EASO, the EU’s asylum office based in Valletta, Malta. The main reason for the decline, according to EASO, is the Corona pandemic travel restrictions. The figures cover all initial applications …

The annual Henley Passport Index has just been released. It ranks passports according to the number of countries their holders can travel to visa-free. The latest ranking named Japan as the country with the most powerful passport in the world followed by Singapore while Germany and South Korea tie for third place Holders of the Japanese passport can travel visa-free …

Rita Ekua Yamoah reports on a recent program, organised by the Frankfurt-based non-governmental organisation Maisha e.V. for the empowerment of girls and women in Ghana against irregular migration, which took place in Accra. — Germany-based Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. has again held a 5-day program to empower women who went through difficulties as a result of irregular …