Author: Elina Jonitz – Erasmus University Rotterdam
This working paper offers an in-depth analysis of labor- and integration-related regularization pathways in Germany as potentially promising solutions for ‘tolerated’ migrants whose return cannot be enforced. More specifically, the analysis draws on the perspectives of regularized migrants, government officials, societal actors, and employers in Baden-Württemberg to highlight the costs and benefits of labor- and integration-related regularizations at both the individual and the societal level.
The analysis suggests that regularization pathways can be seen as relatively promising non-return policies as they appear to yield important societal and economic benefits, respect basic human rights, and enhance migrants’ rights, legal security, mobility, and mental health. However, complex legal procedures and recent shifts towards greater enforcement and deportation may undermine the policies’ goals of providing long-term prospects for ‘well-integrated’ working individuals.