This EMN Inform provides a comparative overview of the policy measures and practical approaches taken by Member States to prevent and manage the risks of third-country nationals going missing and their separation from family members.
The aim of this EMN Inform is to report on how Member States and Norway prevent third-country nationals in the EU from being separated from their family members in three
different scenarios:
1) when they first come into contact with authorities;
2) during transfers from one facility to another; and
3) during their stay in a Member State.
The Inform also reports on how Member States treat the issue of third-country nationals going missing, including existing procedures to report and search for a third-country national reported missing. The inform considers the situation of third-country nationals who are separated from their families or go missing involuntarily. Its scope is limited to third-country nationals within the territory of Member States, thus not covering circumstances along migratory routes within the territorial sea of Member States or outside the
EU or Norwegian borders. The specific issue of unaccompanied minors going missing is not addressed, as it was analysed in another recent EMN publication – EMN Inform on Missing Unaccompanied Minors in the EU, Norway and the UK.
French translation of the Inform was kindly provided by EMN France.