Resettlement and humanitarian admission

Resettlement and humanitarian admission involve the admission of non-EU nationals in need of international protection from a non-EU country to where they have been displaced to an EU Member State where they are that offers them protection. These are safe and legal alternatives to irregular journeys and demonstrate European solidarity with non-EU countries hosting large numbers of people fleeing war or persecution. 

Resettlement is based on referrals by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Humanitarian admission is based, when requested by the Member States, on referrals by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the UNHCR, or another relevant international body, following a request by an EU Member State.

Complementary pathways to protection are safe and regulated avenues for persons in need of protection linked to work and education that complement resettlement. Community sponsorship can underpin these legal pathways and offer integration-related support with the active contribution of civil society organisations, communities and groups of individuals.

Since 2015, EU-sponsored resettlement schemes, involving a significant number of EU countries, have helped more than 130 000 of the most vulnerable people in need of international protection find shelter in the EU. Resettlement is also an important element of the EU-Turkey Statement. Since March 2016, more than 43 000 Syrians have been resettled to EU countries. In addition, since 2021, EU countries have carried out more than 53 000 humanitarian admissions, mostly of Afghans at risk.

Under the ongoing 2024-2025 EU Resettlement and Humanitarian admission scheme, 14 EU countries provided 61 000 pledges for resettlement and humanitarian admission. 

The EUAA supports EU countries in the implementation of their resettlement programmes, including through the Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Network, which was created in January 2020.

The Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework Regulation

First proposed by the Commission in 2016, the Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework Regulation was adopted in May 2024, as part of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. It entered into force and application on 11 June 2024, except for one provision linked to the operationalisation of the Eurodac Regulation.

Objectives of the Regulation:

• Provide for the legal and safe arrival of third-country nationals or stateless persons to the territory of an EU country, in view of granting them a protection status;
• By providing a more structured and predictable framework, the Regulation will support the Union’s contribution to international resettlement and humanitarian admission initiatives;
• Contribute to strengthening the Union’s partnerships with third countries in regions to which a large number of persons in need of international protection has been displaced.

Key novelties:

While building on existing practices, the Regulation introduces new and detailed definitions of ‘resettlement’ and ‘humanitarian admission’ and establishes new common eligibility criteria, grounds for refusing admission, and an admission procedure.

The 2-year Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Plan (the ‘Union Plan’) represents a major innovation that will fully operationalise the Regulation. The Union Plan will be adopted as a Council implementing act based on a Commission proposal, the year before the 2-year implementation period.

The proposal for the Union Plan will take into account the strategic discussions of the High-Level Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Committee (the ‘High-Level Committee’), the preliminary contributions of Member States, and UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs.

The Regulation also outlines the operational support Member States may require to the EUAA, the UNHCR or other relevant partners (e.g., capacity building of personnel).

The High-Level Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Committee

The role of the High-Level Committee is to advise the Commission on the implementation of the Regulation.

The High-Level Committee comprises representatives of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission (chair), the Member States, the EUAA, the UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland shall be invited where they have indicated their intention to be associated with the implementation of the Union Plan. Other relevant organisations, including civil society, may be invited.

Complementary Pathways linked to education and labour

In addition to resettlement and humanitarian admission schemes, the EU promotes other complementary pathways to protection linked to education and work.

Complementary pathways are safe and regulated avenues for persons in need of international protection that complement resettlement by providing lawful stay in a third country where their international protection needs are met, comprising pathways linked to work, higher education, and family reunification.

The 2020 Commission Recommendation (EU) on legal pathways to protection in the EU encourages the Member States to promote complementary pathways for people in need of international protection, in addition to resettlement and humanitarian admission schemes. The European Commission is providing funding to support pilot projects with the aim to explore and assess how to create refugee pathways linked to labour and education in the EU.

Since 2020, Union Action projects focusing on the establishment and development of complementary pathways for persons in need of protection are funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. More information on the Union Action projects currently being implemented can be found on the EU Funding &Tender’s Portal.

More information on complementary pathways can be found on the websites of the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility.

Community sponsorship

In the 2020 Recommendation, the Commission encouraged Member States to explore and expand community sponsorship schemes as a way to underpin resettlement, humanitarian admission and other complementary pathways.

Community sponsorship schemes are based on a strong partnership between the State, civil society organisations and private individuals. In community sponsorship schemes, non-State actors (e.g. individuals, NGOs, faith-based organisations) play a more structural role in welcoming and integrating those in need of international protection.

Community sponsorship schemes have a potential to help increase the number of admission places available to those in need of protection, enable faster and more efficient integration, improve public support for refugees and help prevent irregular onward movements of resettled persons.

Since 2019, under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the European Commission has provided funding to Union Action projects promoting community sponsorship and fostering the integration of persons in need of protection. More information on the Union Action projects currently being implemented can be found on the EU Funding &Tender’s Portal.

Recently, some elements of community sponsorship schemes informed the response to the massive influx of people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The Commission summarised some of the best practices developed in this context in the Safe Homes guidance. The Safe Homes Programme, funded by the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund, was an ambitious initiative that aimed to support the operationalisation of this guidance in the EU and to develop a transnational practice model.

In December 2024, the EUAA published a set of guidelines and recommendations on the EU approach to community sponsorship to support Member States in the design, development and implementation of community sponsorship schemes.

Information on past High-level events