Non-removable migrants in Europe : an atypical migration status?

Abstract

Non-removable migrants are migrants whose presence is acknowledged by national immigration authorities, however they are not returned despite the irregularity of their legal status. Such situations are revealing of the lack of effectiveness of EU's return policy. The regulation of non-removable migrants at the EU level raises several concerns and poses a number of questions in need of an urgent answer. One such question relates to the absence of a mechanism at the EU level to directly address the grey areas in EU law where the distinction between legality and illegality is unclear. In such circumstances the question arises as to whether an EU law protection status for migrants exists. Further, national responses to the same phenomenon vary widely from Member State to Member State, creating considerable indeterminacy. This article examines the crucial question of whether there is there a link between EU law and the creation of these legal grey areas and whether this link is strong enough to provide supranational remedies for this issue.