Youth migration

Of the world’s 272 million migrants, about one in four are young people between the ages of 15 and 24 (IOM, 2020). Over the last two decades, young migrants’ lives have been impacted globally by the financial crisis of 2007-2009, austerity measures, wars and political tensions, restrictions to mobility due to more stringent migration rules, and more recently by the Covid19 pandemic. This chapter focuses on the experiences of young people who migrate, either by themselves or with their families/carers, and examines the extent to which their needs, rights and expectations are addressed by state policies of migrant integration. The young are more likely than any other age group to be migrants; however, for those aged 15-24, migration poses significant challenges, particularly in relation to their access to education opportunities and jobs (France, 2016). In the context of increasing inequalities, researchers have documented the significant risks of social exclusion facing migrant young people globally. Because of their age and restricted rights, migrant young people are more vulnerable to poverty, stress and poor health, exploitation or trafficking. Globally, political responses to the financial crisis and, more recently, the COVID-19 crisis, continue to produce inequalities. Other global crises have followed since, including the wars in Syria and Ukraine in addition to the ongoing climate crisis. Some of these crises have had direct implications for states receiving thousands of forced migrants, given the immediate needs of refugees and resources required to support their wellbeing and integration. How governments respond to migrant arrivals, often in light of political pressure, has a direct effect on migrants’ ability to access opportunities post-migration and the risk of them becoming vulnerable through restricted access to work, education, housing and public services