Mi­gra­tion Law as a Fam­ily Mat­ter

Besides controlling mobility, migration law also impacts on (transnational) family norms and obligations and raises policy issues regarding care, abuse, solidarity and neglect – both in migrants’ countries of origin and in their countries of destination. When regulating migration, EU member states must therefore take claims to family relations into account as well as individual freedoms and national interests. To resolve the resulting tensions, they must negotiate these not only on the national but also on a regional, international and even global level.

This project examines different facets of migration law – labour migration, family migration, asylum, and migration and development – through the lens of family relations. Aims are to:

 

  • chart the tensions between individuals, families and states that arise in migration law
  • assess how these tensions are negotiated in national, EU and international law
  • place these processes in an historical and geographical context
  • look for alternative solutions that may do better justice to all interests at stake.