Bilateral

In October 2018, Nepal signed a labour agreement with Malaysia, the preferred job destination for Nepali migrant workers.

Nepali Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista and Malaysian Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Recruitment, Employment, and Repatriation of Workers amidst a special function in the Capital.

IOM’s Family Assistance Programme (FAP) was launched in March 2016 and is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. The central aim of the programme is to support families in vulnerable situations to reunite with their relatives in Germany.  The programme facilitates access to family reunification, by assisting migrants with the visa application process.

The Brazil Visa Application Centre (BVAC) is a centre in Port-au-Prince exclusively dedicated to Haitian citizens applying for special humanitarian permanent visas (VIPER), which aims to ensure a safe, dignified and legal migration channel to Brazil.

The BVAC centre was created in 2015 as a mean to increase the processing of humanitarian permanent visas in response to the concern of the growing number of people travelling to Brazil irregularly.

With the aim of intensifying cooperation on migration issues, Germany and Egypt signed an Agreement on Bilateral Dialogue on Migration on 27 August 2017. Through the agreement, the two countries seek to work together to tackle the reasons why people migrate to Europe and stres the importance of investing in professional training for young people.

The Agreement includes both closer economic cooperation, as well as support for the Egyptian education sector and additional scholarships for young Egyptians to study in Germany.

Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras agreed to lay the foundation for an understanding on establishing a Comprehensive Development Plan that will promote development and create opportunities in the region, in order to help prevent migration while simultaneously attacking its structural causes.

The Mexico-Canada High Level Dialogue on Human Mobility (DANMov) is the main dialogue mechanism between authorities of Mexico and Canada on migration issues. It takes place once a year, initiated first in 2016. Its objective is to promote the exchange of information on migration trends and good practices, and to facilitate the mobility of people, as well as strengthen regional and global cooperation towards orderly, safe and regular migratory flows. This mechanism has contributed to broaden the scope bilateral of cooperation on migration issues and strengthen mutual trust. 

The bilateral Agreement on the free movement of persons (AFMP) confers upon the citizens of Switzerland and of the member states of the European Union (EU) the right to freely choose their place of employment and residence within the national territories of the contracting parties.

This is conditional, however, on possession by the individuals concerned of a valid employment contract, being self-employed, or in the case of their not being in gainful employment, proof of financial independence and full health insurance coverage.

In August 2003, the German Trade Union for Building, Forestry, Agriculture and the Environment (IG BAU) and a Polish trade union representing employees in agriculture (ZZPR) collaborated on a bilingual information booklet for Polish seasonal workers in Germany.

While trade unions attempt to organise migrant workers, it can be difficult for migrants - especially those involved in temporary and circular migration programmes - to join unions. Cooperation between unions in countries of origin and destination can be useful in addressing these protection gaps.

The Support Fund for Investments of Senegalese Abroad (Fonds d’appui à l’investissement des Sénégalais de l’extérieur – FAISE) aims to promote productive investments in Senegal by citizens living overseas with the long-term objective of encouraging their voluntary return to the country.