Osem dolgih let: življenje brez dovoljenja za bivanje v Sloveniji

Irregular migrant is a broad term that hardly manages to encompass the numerous realities of people whom it designates.An irregular migrant can be someone who crossed into the territory of the state without any travel document, or somebody unable to extend their work or student visa, or an asylum seeker who finished their asylum procedure with a final negative decision.A person may be an irregular migrant for just one day, or their illegal status may last for years.The main commonality of this wide variety is that the person does not have a regularised stay, or in other words, legal status, in a country where he or she lives.Being in a position of illegality causes the person to be without basic rights (health or social insurance, labour rights, etc.).Irregular migrants are subject to direct police control and face the serious threat of long-term detention and deportation.Becoming an irregular migrant is often subject to causes outside the person's control.Precarious status of temporary migrant residencies also means that losing your legal status could be a result of arbitrary factors such as employer bankruptcy, employer's disregard for administrative procedures, or injury.The number of irregular migrants in Europe is impossible to estimate correctly.A recent study by the project Measuring irregular migration and related policies (MIrreM) suggests 2.6 million to 3.2 million people living irregularly in 12 European countries (Kierans, Vargas-Silva: 2024: 3).The conditions of irregular migrants vary significantly from one country to another, as do their respective legislations.Still, no matter the country, escaping irregularity and obtaining legal status remains a challenging task that may take years and forces many to stay illegal and invisible indefinitely.