Practices by Stakeholder 2

Deployment of additional personnel to assist with relocation and evacuation

Relocation and evacuation operations require close coordination and additional resources, including at consulates in host States as well as at the national and local level in States of origin. Measures that can be put in place include:

• Establishing or activating a central structure, at the national level in the State of origin, or in the host State;
• Seeking the assistance of local actors in host States, including private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society to implement specific aspects of operations, such as identifying citizens who need particular care;
• Deploying additional personnel.

Removing barriers to evacuation

Citizens may not want to leave a host State, even when there are risks to their own personal safety, if they have to leave family members behind (e.g., because family members have a different nationality) or abandon property or assets. States of origin can adopt emergency measures to remove barriers to evacuation, including:

• Waiving taxes or other restrictions that inhibit citizens from transferring home personal or business assets;
• Permitting evacuation for family units where family members have different nationalities;
• Permitting evacuation in some circumstances for employees of citizens, such as domestic workers, when those employees are migrants themselves and have a different nationality.

Deployment of consular assistance teams to borders, airports, or other transit points

The deployment of consular assistance teams to borders, airports, or other transit points in the host State during a crisis can allow States of origin to provide consular assistance to their citizens, including assisting with arrangements to evacuate or relocate from the crisis area. Borders, airports, and transit points are often congested and chaotic during a crisis and consular assistance teams can help citizens navigate this environment. In deploying a consular assistance team, factors to consider include:

• Language capacity;
• Resources and assets at the teams’ disposal;
• Responsibility for costs incurred;
• The scope of services that will be provided to citizens in the crisis area, including undertaking identity verifications, issuing identity and travel documents, and securing employment releases or permission to maintain regular immigration status;
• Liaison with authorities and emergency services in the host State and in States of transit;
• Whether to deploy ‘advance teams’ who could alert authorities of the need for surge capacity;
• Coordination with other relevant stakeholders.

Criteria for determining persons eligible for evacuation

In determining how to undertake evacuations and whom to prioritize for evacuation, States could consider the following factors:

• Emergency medical needs;
• Age, disability, and other vulnerabilities;
• Maintaining family unity, including for those family members with different nationalities;
• How dual citizens will be treated;
• How employees of citizens, including those of different nationalities, will be treated;
• When to support other States of origin to evacuate their citizens.