PhD student: Mrs E. Sevrin

Promotor: K. Lemmens

Duration: 1/10/2022 - 30/9/2028

Abstract:

The European Union has attempted to harmonize the legal position of non-returnable migrants, but to no avail. The result is that different countries can have significantly diverging approaches to this diverse, yet vulnerable group of migrants. For instance, whereas Belgium formally does not have any specific framework for this group, the situation is quite different in Germany (Duldungsstatut) or Norway (legal residence options). As the Schengen area does not have any internal borders, the presence of these people, and the form of their legal status can have a thorough impact on neighbouring countries. In my PhD, the goal is to study on the one hand the Belgian legal situation and ways in which judges mitigate the legal vacuum. However, on the other hand, a thorough comparative study of other European countries should lead to an interesting overview of the multitude of possible legal solutions.