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Research ACMRL

The Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL) at VU Amsterdam is a leading academic hub for critical, interdisciplinary research on migration and refugee law. Our scholars analyse legal developments at the international, European, and national levels, drawing on doctrinal, empirical, philosophical, historical, and postcolonial approaches.  

Research at the Centre spans questions of asylum and refugee protection, family migration, labour mobility, statelessness, border control, procedural fairness, mutual trust, and the temporalities of migration law. Through academic publications, public engagement, policy advice, and strategic collaborations, the ACMRL contributes to rigorous scholarship and informed public debate on the changing landscape of migration governance. Publications of the staff of the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law can be found on their individual pages. We also publish some of our research in our Working Paper Series. 

Our research group is visible in the public debate, and scholars are active in advisory committees to the government and non-governmental organizations and publish frequently on Verblijfblog.nl, where topical migration law issues are explained for a broader public. 

We regularly host national and international visitors through our Visitors Programme. Our annual Sarah van Walsum lecture provides a platform for critical discussions concerning migration, law, and society, bringing together scholars, legal professionals, and policymakers to address urgent issues and challenges. 

Research fields

EU Asylum Law and the New Pact 
We research new developments in EU Asylum law, including asylum-related aspects of the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration –  for example, the Pact’s instruments, its guiding principles, fundamental rights implications, or national implementation challenges.  

Contact: Hemme Battjes 

 

Family and Migration Law 
We examine how family relationships shape and are shaped by migration governance, including work on family reunification, marriage migration, children’s rights, and decision-making practices across national and regional levels.  

See further: 

Contact: Betty de Hart  

 

Labour Migration and Global Migration Law 
We examine Global Migration Law, with a particular focus on labour migration and the Global Compact for Migration, including its influence on legislation, jurisprudence, ethical recruitment, decent work, and the role of key stakeholders in implementation.  

See further: 

  • Global Migration Law Hub  

Contact: Younous Arbaoui  

 

Rule of Law and Migration 
We research how rule-of-law principles constrain state power in migration contexts, interrogates forms of exceptionalism, and relates migration governance to concepts such as autocratic legalism, domination, or arbitrariness.  

See further:  

Contact: Lieneke Slingenberg  

 

Human Rights Law and Migration Policy 
We research how human rights law, including through litigation, shapes, challenges, and reframes migration governance at the UN, European and national level. We examine, for example, strategic litigation practices, responses by courts or treaty bodies, and explore case studies from various jurisdictions.  

See further: 

Contact: Janna Wessels 

 

From Migration Law to the Law of Mobility 
We draw on mobilities approaches to migration law to analyse how law regulates diverse mobile subjects and the rationales underlying their legal differentiation, exploring the value of a mobilities approach for rethinking migration law, including dimensions such as temporalities and spatialities. 

Contact: Martijn Stronks   

Other activities

  • Visitors Programme

    The Migration Law Research Programme of VU Amsterdam has initiated a visitors programme. As of 2011, foreign researchers have been welcome to stay with us for a period of a maximum of six months.

    We offer:

    • a stimulating working environment, in a leading migration law research group
    • a work space, access to the University library, photocopying facilities etc
    • assistance of the law faculty’s international office in finding housing in Amsterdam

    We expect:

    • participation in the research group’s activities
    • a presentation of the visitor’s research project
    • for visitors staying more than three months: one publication under the name of the Migration Law Research Programme
    • one contribution to our blog (Verblijfblog.nl)
    • if possible, work with the Migration Law Clinic

    Interested in our visiting program? Please do not hesitate to contact the coordinator of the program Masja Zweers (m.j.l.g.zweers@vu.nl). 

    To apply for the Visitors Programme, please include the following documents in your application:

    • Academic CV
    • Motivation letter, specifying:
      • Your reasons for selecting the ACMRL for your research visit;
      • The researcher you would like to work with during your stay;
      • The research project you plan to undertake while you are here (e.g., article, chapter, or dissertation in general); and
      • The period for which you are applying. Please note that stays of at least three months are highly encouraged.

    We look forward to receiving your application and welcoming you to the ACMRL!

    Discover research visitors from previous years here.



  • ACMRL Migration Law Series

    The ACMRL Migration Law Series by the ACMRL periodically publishes papers and books that highlight the findings of its research in the field of migration and refufee law.

    Please find all contributions here.

    Series editor: Janna Wessels

  • Sarah van Walsum lecture

    In honour of our late colleague Sarah van Walsum, the ACMRL hosts an annual lecture in recognition of her significant contributions to migration law, family relations, and gender studies. Each year, the lecture is delivered by someone who knew Sarah and explores a topic she would have found fascinating. 

    Please find more information here.

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