Immigration and Border Governance

IOM’s Immigration and Border Governance (IBG) Division partners with Member States to enhance the migration policies, legal frameworks, technical and administrative structures, and human resources required to effectively address the challenges and harness the opportunities of migration and cross-border mobility.

IBG interventions are designed in partnership with governments and other relevant stakeholders, advancing IOM’s commitment to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration along with predictable human mobility, through three distinct but complementary portfolios: Border and Identity Solutions, Immigration and Visas, and Legal Identity.

Across its programmes, IBG works to promote regular migration pathways, strengthen admission processes, encourage readmission cooperation, advance access to legal identity, facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and bona fide travelers, and ensure rights-based and coherent border security measures. With a heightened focus on good migration governance, IBG’s work highlights the positive contributions of well-administered mobility as well as immigration and border management processes to peace, security, regional integration, and sustainable development.

Border and Identity Solutions Unit (BIS)

Efficient border and migration management policies and structures, supported by professional, well-trained personnel, facilitates and fosters enhanced movement management at borders, prevents irregular migration, helps dismantle organized criminal networks, and protects the rights of migrants. Upon Governments’ request, the BIS Unit addresses a broad range of migration and border management issues by building and enhancing Member States’ capacity.

Some key BIS activities include strengthening Member States’ border and migration management structures and procedures, including building their capacity to register, check and analyze cross-border movements, enhance the security of identity documents, and develop relevant technical tools. In particular, the Unit works on topics such as Humanitarian Border Management; Counter Migrant Smuggling; Trade and Development; Readmission and Regularization.

The technical support provided by the BIS Unit includes policy support, capacity building and assessments, as well as some cross-cutting topics such as data management, intelligence and risk analysis; gender; border security and integrated border management. Additional assistance includes:

 

 

Additional technical support provided by the BIS Unit include:

• Travel Document Inspection
• Community Policing
• Immigration Detention & Alternatives to Detention
• Border Management Information Systems – including IOM’s MIDAS (Migration Information and Data Analysis System)
• Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR)
• Regional Free Movement Arrangements

IOM is a partner within the UN's Countering Terrorist Travel (‘CT Travel’) Programme. The Programme is a global initiative that aims to build Member States capacities to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and other serious crimes, including their related travel, by collecting and analyzing passenger data, both API and PNR, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions, international standards and best practices and human rights principles.  

For any further in details information, and to learn more about the Programme, please visit the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel ('CT Travel') Programme website. 

Immigration and Visas Unit (IV)

 

The Immigration and Visas (IV) unit seeks to enhance access to and flexibility of safe and legal pathways and supports Member States with effective and rights-based admission, stay, and readmission solutions tailored to specific needs and contexts. Those solutions, including improved visa policy and practices, ensure the efficient functioning and streamlining of admission and readmission frameworks and are key to better manage regular migration and prevent irregular migration. For migrants, access to regular migration pathways is crucial as they are otherwise vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including by unscrupulous brokers, and the risks related to irregular migration journeys and status.

IOM provides support to States for the development and implementation of comprehensive visa policies and processing, as well as for enhanced readmission management and cooperation, in line with IOM’s Policy on the Full Spectrum of Return, Readmission, and Reintegration. This includes assistance for the development of relevant policies, legislation and strategies, and assistance in the review of States’ visa practices and readmission frameworks, conducting research and increasing understanding of visa policies and practices at the national, regional and global levels, as well as enhancing dialogue and providing technical solutions for governments to better manage readmission. Furthermore, IOM supports immigration and consular authorities in managing visa application processes through a wide range of tailored, technology-driven, cost-effective and non-profit operational solutions and upgraded processes, which are protection-sensitive and make regular migration pathways more accessible, dignified, timely and transparent. The support offered includes logistical assistance to facilitate visa processing, visa application assistance, case management, document verification, facilitation of interviews, skills and language testing facilitation, biometrics enrolment, travel document handling, visa appointment and visa issuance systems, management of visa application centres, visa-related information services and access to consular and citizen services. IV programmes are driven by migrant-centric, protection-sensitive, and rights-based approaches – with fundamental human rights and data protection at the centre of their delivery.

Legal Identity

 

Contact Us

Damien Thuriaux 
Head, Immigration and Border Management Division
Email: dthuriaux@iom.int
 
Immigration and Border Management Division
Email: ibm@iom.int
Twitter: IOM_IBM_HQ