Objective 4: Ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate documentation

In line with Pakistan’s policy on ‘Voluntary repatriation and management of Afghan nationals’, the Government of Pakistan registered around 880,000 undocumented Afghans in 2017-2018. This registration aimed to provide better protection to the undocumented Afghan nationals living in Pakistan, enable them to safely return to their country of origin, obtain legal travel documents, benefit from the visa policy of Pakistan towards Afghan nationals and contribute to the development of their country of origin as well as destination as regular migrants.

The Law on Refugees, Complementary Protection and Political Asylum incorporates the concept of “complementary protection”. A person who does not comply with the criteria defined by such law to be recognized as a refugee, can be granted complementary protection to prevent their return to a country where their life could be in danger. Beneficiaries of complementary protection have a documented stay in the country, freedom of movement, access to gainful employment, as well as basic social rights.

Uruguay has introduced specific measures to minimize administrative irregularity linked with international human mobility and is pursuing legal framework revisions to promote migrants’ rights, bilateral and multilateral social security agreements, visa waiver agreements, and various measures in line with civil society recommendations.

The most significant examples of regularization and access to residence and identity documents are the following:

In Morocco, national consultations were held in September 2017 with civil society and diaspora representivatives, scholars and researchers, represensatives of the private sector and public institutions. These national consultations have enabled Morocco to come with a consolidated contribution to the Global Compact, the "Recommendations of the Kingdom of Morocco on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration."

San Francisco has set up a varied legal framework in order to be a city of inclusion for migrants. Primarily, based on the principle that migrants have a right to justice regardless of their migratory stats, and that migrants should have access to basic services, in 1989 San Francisco passed the "City and Country of Refuge" Ordinance (also known as the Sanctuary Ordinance).

Over the past few years, Thailand has regularized over two millions undocumented migrant workers, enabling them to get the same legal protection as Thai nationals and gain access to basic social services such as healthcare and education.

In access to Education, on 19 January 2018, the Ministry of Education issued a directive instructing all public schools to accept for enrolment all children including those that do not have Thai nationality or legal documents.

In February 2016, a very progressive national law on human mobility was approved (recognized by ILO and UNHCR) to guarantee migrants can have identity cards etc.; and exercise all rights of Ecuadorians particularly access to high-level universal health and education, as well as access to justice.

Tanzania did in 2014 a joint exercise with IOM Tanzania, under Comprehensive Migration Management Strategy in Tanzania (COMMIST), aimed at register all irregular migrants in the three Western Tanzanian regions of Kigoma, Kagera and Geira. As a pilot project, in two months, 22,282 migrants were registered and given IDs. Awareness-raising and capacity building for immigration officials and regional, district and village authorities will form other key activities in this project.

The project Nascer Cidadão (To be born a citizen) allows every new born to be automatically and immediately registered in the hospitals and public maternities. This prevents parents from being forced into bureaucracy and helps to detect  any kind of vulnerabilites and special needs of certain communities, parents and their children

Ecuador has negotiated a residence agreement with the countries of Mercosur and Mercosur’s associated countries with the aim of regularizing the South American migrants that are in Ecuador as well as the Ecuadorians living in countries within the region. This enables nationals and migrants alike to stay in their countries of desitnation for a specific period of time, or apply for residency after two years.