NEARLY one million people from eight countries with high asylum recognition rates were granted entry permits to 38 destination countries between 2019 and 2023, according to a landmark report released today by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The report, titled OECD-UNHCR: Safe Pathways for Refugees, highlights a significant increase in the use of work, family, and study permits by refugees, marking a shift towards integrating refugees into regular migration systems.
“Behind these numbers are refugees using the same systems that millions of people use every day to migrate for work, study or to reunite with family,” said Ruven Menikdiwela, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. “There is no need to create parallel structures for refugees, we just need to provide them with safe and flexible ways to access existing systems.”
The data shows that in 2023 alone, nearly 255,000 entry permits were issued to refugees from countries with high asylum recognition rates—an increase of 14 percent over 2022. This builds on a 39 percent rise from 2021, and, according to the report, 2023 not only surpassed pre-pandemic levels but also exceeded the previous peak in 2017.
An additional 30,000 individuals benefited from sponsorship schemes in other countries. “2023 was the most successful year on record since UNHCR and the OECD began tracking this data in 2010,” the report notes.
Family reunification permits accounted for the majority of visas issued, making up 63 percent of the total, followed by work (19 percent) and study (18 percent) permits. All three categories saw increases, reflecting growing opportunities for refugees to rebuild their lives through legal migration.
Countries such as Germany, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden were identified as leading contributors to these efforts. By admitting refugees through family, student, and worker migration visas, these countries have collectively brought the international community more than halfway towards a 2.1 million permit target set under the Global Compact on Refugees.
“These programmes enable refugees to stop being dependent on humanitarian aid and to create stable, independent futures,” Menikdiwela emphasised. “They are much larger schemes than traditional resettlement and provide additional avenues towards a solution. If countries go further and lift more of the obstacles that refugees face in accessing legal pathways related to documentation, skills certification and others, more people will win back their lives.”
UNHCR is urging states to integrate refugees into their regular migration systems and adopt practical tools, such as machine-readable travel documents for refugees, to facilitate safe and independent movement across borders. The agency is also calling for stronger partnerships with the private sector, educational institutions, and civil society to expand refugees’ access to legal migration.
This appeal comes amid unprecedented global displacement and mounting pressure on asylum systems. “While the need for sustainable solutions, including resettlement and complementary pathways, is growing, many countries are grappling with limited resources and shifting priorities,” the report warns. “This challenges their ability to maintain or expand existing legal pathways for refugees.”
In this context, UNHCR stresses the importance of safeguarding progress and finding practical ways to strengthen and scale up these efforts. “We call on all partners to invest in proven solutions and ensure that legal pathways continue to play a vital and expanding role in the global response,” the agency stated.
The report underscores that expanding legal pathways not only offers hope to refugees but also strengthens the resilience and diversity of host communities worldwide.
