AMIF, the European Commission's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, is calling for funding proposals for projects that promote complementary pathways for people in need of protection and their further integration.

To develop complementary pathways, NGOs, the private sector and international organisations must cooperate closely with national authorities to make existing legal migration channels more accessible to people in need of international protection. Swift integration of newcomers into host societies is integral to the succes of complementary pathways, and requires that all relevant stakeholders work closely together.

With this in mind, this funding topic aims to promote the creation of new places for legal admission and effective integration of people in need of international protection, by designing and implementing complementary pathway programmes which will:

• facilitate enrolment in European universities;
• facilitate access to work-related residence permits for individuals with relevant skills for the EU labour market;
• enable legal and safe family reunification for the beneficiaries of international protection residing in the EU by providing assistance and support;
• promote new initiatives or improve existing ones led by locally-established actors in the receiving country, e.g. civil society organisations, diaspora communities, local authorities, etc. carried out in cooperation with relevant authorities to establish community sponsorship programmes.

Funding will be granted for such actions as:

• activities to address the barriers to legal pathways for people in need of international protection;
• the development of programmes for the admission and subsequent integration of people in need of international protection in Member States, including through tailor-made pre-departure and post-arrival measures;
• activities to mobilise local support and build strong partnerships between key stakeholders, such as national and local authorities, local communities, employers, unions, higher education institutions, students, diasporas and other private sponsors.

If proposals include actions beyond those listed above, it should be clearly demonstrated how they would serve to achieve the objectives of this call.

Taking into account the transnational aspect of this topic, actions fostering joint activities between partners in different Member States are encouraged.  

More information on this call is available on the European Commission's website, where proposals should be submitted by 16 February 2021 (at 17:00 Brussels time).

Learn more here about other funding opportunities within this call.