The Concept of International Migration by Definition

Retrieved from International Migration: The Nexus Between Security and Migration of African Migrants. DOI:10.2139/ssrn.3911558

For years, people have migrated in pursuit of quality life and their well-being as a result of numerous factors. The vast majority migrate internationally for reasons related to work, family and study. In contrast, other people under compelling and tragic conditions, such as conflict, persecution, victims of trafficking and disaster are coerced to leave their home countries against their will. These people become refugees and asylum seekers in their destination countries and they make up a relatively small percentage of all migrants (IOM, 2013 and 2020).

There is no universally agreed definition for international migration. However, there have been specific definitions of international migration over the years. The United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration defines an international migrant as any person who has changed his or her country of usual residence, distinguishing between short-term migrants (those who have changed their countries of usual residence for at least three months but less than one year) and long-term migrants (those who have done so for at least one year). However, not all countries use this definition in practice. Some countries use different criteria to identify international migrants such as by applying different minimum durations of residence (UN DESA, 1998; IOM, 2020). It can therefore be deduced from the above definition that, international migration is the movement of people from their country of usual residence distinguishing between short-term migration and long-term migration. This is because an international migrant is an individual involved in international migration. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) defines international migration as “the movement of persons who leave their country of origin or their country of habitual residence, to establish themselves either permanently or temporarily in another country (IOM, 2005). Both definitions emphasized on time significance of migration which determines the status of international migrants in their host countries.

International migration can further be defined as the mobility or movement of persons across countries which may take place across regions or within regions of the same continent and across continents either permanently or temporarily for varying reasons such as economic and non-economic reasons. The definition focuses on the pathways of international migration, reasons for migration and the time significance of migration in contrast to the earlier definitions which emphasized primarily on migration periods. Pathways of international migration are migratory routes of migrants across countries, regions and continents.

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References

International Organization for Migration (2013). World Migration Report 2013: Migrant well-being and development. Available at www.iom.int

International Organization for Migration (2020). World Migration Report 2020.Available at www.iom.int

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (1998). Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration: Revision 1. United Nations, New York. Available at https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesM/SeriesM_58rev1E.pdf.