Basic terms on the topic

“Migrants”, “refugees” or “asylum seekers”

Many people use terms such as “migrants”, “refugees” or “asylum seekers” without really thinking about their exact definition. In the context of the “refugee crisis” they are often mentioned and some have established themselves as commonly used and generally valid terms for people who have come to Greece from other countries.

From a legal and political point of view, however, there are clear distinctions that a person should know if they, like you, wish to support people. Therefore, you will find below an overview of important basic terms from the context of migration. Perhaps you already know some of them very well.

Try to come up with your own definition in your head before opening the containers.

What is migration?
  • Migration refers to the long-term relocation of the centre of one’s life over a long distance. There is still no universal definition of how long the distance and time must be for human movement to be classified as migration.
  • The United Nations provides a guideline: residence must be changed across national borders and must be accompanied by a duration of more than three months (short-term migration) or more than one year (permanent migration).
  • Of importance is also the general motivation of a person to change his/her place of residence for a longer period of time.
  • The following types are distinguished: Labour migration – Family migration – Educational migration – Refugee migration – Lifestyle Migration
Irregular migration
Movement that takes place outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit and receiving countries.1 There is no clear or universally accepted definition of irregular migration. From the perspective of destination countries, it is entry, stay or work in a country without the necessary authorisation or documents required under immigration regulations.

From the perspective of the sending country, the irregularity is for example seen in cases in which a person crosses an international boundary without a valid passport or travel document or does not fulfil the administrative requirements for leaving the country. There is, however, a tendency to restrict the use of the term „illegal migration“ to cases of smuggling of migrants and people trafficking.

Who is considered a migrant?
  • The term migrant is much more general and refers to people who move across national or state borders to another place.
  • This is often done out of one’s own free will and the desire to improve one’s own living conditions. Strictly speaking, however, refugees also count as migrants.
Irregular migrant
In the EU context, a third-country national present on the territory of a Schengen State who does not fulfil, or no longer fulfils, the conditions of entry as set out in the Regulation (EU) 2016/399 (Schengen Borders Code), or other conditions for entry.

The term ‚irregular‘ is preferable to ‚illegal‘ migrant because the latter carries a criminal connotation, entering a country in an irregular manner, or staying with an irregular status, is not a criminal offence but an infraction of administrative regulations. Apart from this, juridically and ethically, an act can be legal or illegal but a person cannot. Thus more and more the term ‚migrant in an irregular situation‘ or ‚migrant with irregular status‘ is preferred.

Who is considered a refugee?
  • Many use this term as a generally valid term for all people who have come to Greece out of need. From a legal point of view, however, only those who fall under the so-called Geneva Convention are considered refugees.
  • A refugee has the right to security and protection in another country because there is a well-founded fear of persecution in his/her own country. He/she knows that it is no longer possible to stay or return to his/her home country.
  • Refugees are therefore forced to leave the country due to external circumstances.
  • Reasons for this may be the following: Religion – Nationality – Political opinions – Ethnicity Group
Who is considered an asylum seeker?
Asylum seekers are people who are currently undergoing an asylum procedure. The Asylum Service (Ministry of Citizen Protection) is responsible for the individual processing of applications.
Further information on the subject of asylum systems can be found in the course “The Asylum System and its functions“.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.iom.int/key-migration-terms

Project Partners

Casework is a cooperation between the Innovation in Learning Institute (ILI), the ECC Association for Interdisciplinary Consulting and Education, the INTRGEA Institute for Development of Human Potentials, and Oxfam Italy. More info…