Privatisation of Migration & Refugee Services & Other Forms of State Disengagement

This research, written by Jane Lethbridge, Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), examines the effects of the privatisation of services for refugees and migrants at national and international level.

This study was commissioned by Public Services International (PSI) and the European Public Service Union (EPSU) to inform both our work in influencing policy on global governance of migration at European Union, national and global levels, build awareness and capacity among affiliates, and fight the privatisation of public services, which is now flourishing in different ways on the back of migrants and refugees. The “migration market”, which is under-researched and under-debated, has a long history in Anglo-Saxon
countries. It is now growing in other parts of the world as well as in the international and European Union (EU) agencies involved in the management of migration.