What is resettlement? 

Resettlement is a lifeline for some of the world's most at-risk refugees. It involves selecting and transferring recognised refugees from the country where they have sought protection to another country which has greater capacity to welcome them, and support them to rebuild their lives (for instance, in Europe).

Resettlement is a tried and tested protection tool and a means of supporting forcibly displaced people and the countries that welcome them. As multiple crises around the world are resulting in more people being displaced than ever before, it is essential that EU countries not only honour their existing resettlement pledges but commit to growing and future-proofing these vital programmes in the years to come. 

Why is resettlement important? 

Everyone wins with resettlement - refugees, countries of first asylum, and the countries that welcome them. 

Every single resettlement place filled has an immensely positive impact:  

These are merely examples of the added value resettlement and resettled refugees bring us. When we welcome refugees, we also welcome their economic, and entrepreneurial contributions to our communities.  

What are current resettlement needs?  

The UNHCR estimates that, in 2026, 2.5 million refugees will be in need of resettlement. It estimates that Afghan and Syrian refugees will be the main populations in need of resettlement over the next year, followed by South Sudanese, Sudanese, Rohingya and Congolese (DRC) refugees.  

As for hosting countries, UNHCR projects that countries facing the highest resettlement needs will be (in decreasing order) Iran, Türkiye, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Lebanon, Chad, Bangladesh, Egypt and Thailand. 

Despite the high level of needs, the EU’s track record in the number of people admitted via resettlement raises concerns. In 2024, Member States collectively resettled just 11,827 refugees, far below their target of 15,000. In 2023, the figure was just 12,467, falling short of the pledged 16,000, according to UNHCR’s Data Finder. 

What is the Union Resettlement Framework (URF)? 

In December 2022, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the first-ever EU resettlement framework (URF) to define “a unified approach and common procedures for resettlement and humanitarian admission of vulnerable individuals who are eligible to receive refugee or subsidiary protection status in the EU”.  

The URF – a key part of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum - aims to establish a more structured and predictable EU resettlement system and to strengthen the role of the EU in global resettlement efforts. 

The Resettlement Coalition, a group of NGOs and CSOs advocating for safe pathways, previously welcomed the progress and agreement on the URF, calling for it to be swiftly adopted and put into action.  

However, the adoption of the URF will not necessarily result in an increase in the number of people resettled to the EU. It’s essential that advocacy efforts continue, pressing for the EU and its member states to maximise the number of people who can benefit from such safe pathways.  

What is the Union Plan, and what are our concerns?  

The URF mandates the EC to draft a Union plan every 2 years. The European Commission published the Union Plan for Resettlement 2026-2027 in November 2025. This is a biannual Plan that can be adapted to reflect Member States' evolving capacity for resettlement, considering fluctuations in the needs and circumstances of both EU and in third countries. It also outlines Member States’ resettlement and humanitarian admission pledges for the next two years, with a focus on the main migratory routes.  

Main elements of the adopted plan by the Council: 

People will be resettled from:

  1. Countries along the main migratory routes leading to the EU through the Mediterranean and Atlantic routes, with a view to providing access to safe and legal pathways in key transit regions to those in need of protection.
  2. Countries in the Americas, with a particular focus on Central and Latin America, notably in the light of the socio-cultural ties that might foster the integration of those admitted to the EU.
  3. Countries that the EU, or its Member States, have established or are seeking to achieve broader migration management and international protection objectives with. 

While every resettlement pledge is welcome and urgently needed, the Resettlement Coalition is deeply concerned that this approach fails to address the reality of resettlement needs – many of which would not fit the above criteria. 

What should the EU do instead? 

To make the Union Resettlement plan work in practice, EU Member States should seize the opportunity to not only maintain their resettlement programmes, but also strengthen them. This will require them to: 

EU member states have pledged to resettle a total of 30,000 refugees and welcome slightly less than 30,000 people via humanitarian admissions in 2024-25. While every place offered makes a difference, this only covers 2% of the resettlement needs estimated by UNHCR for 2025 alone. For 2026-2027, Member States’ pledges drop to just 10,430 resettlements and humanitarian admissions. This is clearly not enough, especially given the growing gap resulting from US backsliding on refugee protection.  

Civil society organisations have decades of innovations and best practices on safe routes that can be replicated. For example, in recent years the United States introduced faster processing models that made resettlement more flexible and responsive. This could be rapidly adapted for use in emergencies, such as the emergency resettlement of Afghans at risk of reprisal following regime change in the country.  

New initiatives, such as the Union Resettlement Framework are important steps toward increased European-wide coordination on resettlement. The EU needs to keep up this momentum and use it to galvanise greater political support for collaborative approaches to resettlement across Europe and beyond.  

Member States should expand safe and legal ways for people to move, alongside resettlement. This includes new routes—such as labour and family reunification pathways— to create a more humane, orderly and effective asylum and migration system, and ensure that people are not forced to risk their lives on dangerous journeys in search of protection.