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Immigration and Border Management
Due to its being the leading inter-governmental organization specializing in migration, States frequently come to the IOM for assistance to help them address the complex challenges posed by border management. The Immigration and Border Management Division, a group of specialists with considerable technical skills and ample experience in this area, is strategically deployed both in the field and at IOM Headquarters, in order to offer assistance and expertise to governments that wish to improve their migratory procedures and border and operations management.
Comprehensive border management requires that all of the applicable authorities work together effectively and efficiently. Cooperation should not concern just that country itself, but rather should transcend its borders and include the relevant institutions in the neighboring countries. Comprehensive border management seeks to cover three areas of cooperation and coordination: between services, inter-institutional, and international.
The underlying concept in the frameworks of comprehensive border management is the one-stop border station. Although the name is new, this concept has been implemented in different ways in many regions, and basically implies infrastructure that is physically shared, in which customs and border services of neighboring countries work hand-in-hand.
There is also a parallel concept known as coordinated border management (widely recognized by the customs community and the World Customs Organization), with objectives similar to those of comprehensive border management, but centered on more specific aspects of promoting coordination and collaboration between customs institutions and non-governmental actors.
Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS)
In order to support governments to meet today’s complex migration and border management challenges, the Immigration and Border Management (IBM) Team at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has developed a border management information system: the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS).
MIDAS has been designed for States with little or inadequate data capture systems in order to give them the operational means to manage migration. Compliant with international standards, MIDAS is a high-quality, affordable system, suitable for installation also in remote areas.
The activities conducted in this area are directed at helping Member States to create policy, legislation and administrative structures, operational systems and a human resources base capable of responding effectively to diverse migration challenges and to appropriately institute migration governance. The objective involves both fighting against the smuggling of migrants and its related crimes, and promoting border management systems and regular channels for dignified, safe and orderly migration. Such activities are conceived based on the needs identified by Member States with the Immigration and Border Management Team and in collaboration with other relevant actors, for the sake of identifying priority areas and contributing the most adequate solutions based on the context of each country or region.
Current priorities include the following:
- Reducing irregular migration and smuggling of migrants
- Supporting countries so that they may promote regular migration channels and access to legal identity
- Strengthening integrated border management focusing on protecting the rights of migrants
- Fostering international cooperation and sharing of data
- Harmonising national and regional policies and practices with a view to having common international standards.
The Immigration and Border Management Team provides assistance to Member States to shape their immigration and border management policies, and supports their implementation by relevant agencies. This work implies a whole range of comprehensive and consistent activities, which are interconnected and reinforce each other:
- Regularisation
- Readmission
- MIDAS: a comprehensive and affordable border management information system management
- Passenger data (API/PNR)
- Border and migration management assessments
- Border and migration management for development and trade
- Border security
- Integrated border management
- Border and migration management policy
- Maritime security and border management
- Counter-migrant smuggling
- Community policing
- Travel document inspection
- Traveller identification management
- Humanitarian border management
- Gender and border management
- Migrant detention and alternatives to detention
- Migration data management, intelligence and risk analysis
- Family reunification for the benefit of all
- IOM visa policy support
- Family assistance programme
- Technology in support of family reunification
- IOM visa application centres
- IOM verification solutions
- Consular support and citizen services