MIGRATION POLICY AND CURRENT REGULATION, DECREE 8764

NORTHERN HUETAR REGION An area of 9,603.4 km² - 19.2% of the national

territory • BORDER: 315 lineal kilometres

PACIFIC OCEAN

CARIBBEAN

NORTH

SOUTH

UPALA

LOS CHILES

SAN CARLOS

GUATUSO

RIO CUARTO

ALFARO RUIZ

SARAPIQUI

NORTHERN HUETAR REGIONAL DELEGATION

Mission

Institution in charge of implementing migration policy through integration and provision of efficient and effective services, based on values and respect for human rights and in accordance with the requirements of society.

Vision

To lead the management of migration flows and integration of migrant populations and to contribute to development and to strengthening public security, based on humanitarian principles and values.

REGULATIONS GOVERNING MIGRATION MATTERS

• Political Constitution

• 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol

• United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

• Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, complementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

• Protocol against Migrant Smuggling by Land, Sea, and Air, complementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

• Public Administration Law

• Other international instruments

• Relevant related legislation

Institutional Values

• In its opportunity assessment, the Values Committee of the

General Directorate of Migration and Immigration (DGME) established ten values that prevail in this institution:

• Teamwork Respect• Service Truth• Efficiency Trust• Commitment Reliability• Integrity Excellence

Institutional Policy• To contribute in an ongoing manner to establishing and updating migration policy in

accordance with national objectives and to enable attracting migration flows that benefit the country and integrating migrant populations into Costa Rican society.

• To contribute to national and regional development within the framework of integration

processes. • To develop new management models to ensure maximizing the use of the available

resources through modernizing institutions and professionalizing human resources.

• To improve the institutional image through efforts to work in an efficient and effective manner.

• To expand national coverage in terms of service provision and migration control. • To establish reliable and timely migration information systems to facilitate

decision-making by DGME and by other institutions requiring information relating to migration.

Strategic Objectives• To implement migration controls through optimum operative

systems with proactive, productive staff with career development opportunities, with the purpose of meeting the needs of users in an efficient manner.

• To foster the country’s development by granting residence status to foreign nationals whose skills and knowledge contribute to the development of the country.

• To maximize the use of the resources of the institution through optimizing work processes, implementing the use of technology, and establishing a structure which enables the institution to function appropriately.

• To promote an organizational culture that focuses on efficiency and quality, enabling not only improved service provision and more effective migration controls but in addition, enabling DGME to benefit society in general.

• To provide specialized training on migration matters

for staff members of DGME through a continuing education programme, with the aim of enabling staff to use the tools that are required in addressing the dynamics and complexity of the phenomenon of migration.

Rationale

• The INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS is a tool for preventing social violence and, at the same time, it is a social development factor.

• Costa Rica: A country of destination, transit, and origin for various migration flows: migrant workers, refugees, tourists, etc.

• A balance is sought between migration and development / migration and security.

The Commitment of The Commitment of Costa Rica:Costa Rica:

Costa Rica seeks and commits to working toward the integration of migrants.

Legalization is parallel to its contribution to the sustainability of public services.

ControlControl = = IntegrationIntegration IntegrationIntegration = = ControlControl

VisionsVisions

Migrationand

SecurityAn Important Balance

Migration and

Development

GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE POLICY

To comply with the principles of

fairness, equality, non-

discrimination, and interculturality

with the aim of promoting the

social integration of national,

migrant, and refugee populations.

PRINCIPLES

• a. Principle of equality and non-discrimination • b. The right to life and to the protection of

personal integrity• c. Assumption of good faith• d. The right to minimum detention• e. The right to due process• f. The right to information and

communication

• g. Individual treatment for each migrant • h. The right to apply for refugee status• i. Family unification• j. Abolishing torture and other types of

cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment

• k. Gender focus

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN• NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN• Strategic Action

• Objectives for Action:– To carry out a comprehensive reform of the regulatory

framework of Migration and Immigration, with the aim of establishing a migration model that includes the vision of control and integration.

– To integrate migrant populations into community participation and co-management, stimulating participation in seeking solutions at a community level, in accordance with the principle of solidarity.

FROM THE REGIONAL DELEGATION OF THE NORTHERN REGION

Given the above, the Regional Delegation of the Northern Region, located in Ciudad Quesada, San Carlos, initiated efforts to integrate migrant populations into communities in 2008. We began by visiting communities with mobile immigration service units to enable migrants to be documented and thus, to enjoy all the rights granted to migrant populations.

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Teamwork is the ability to work jointly toward a common objective – the ability to renounce personal ambitions and merge individual achievements with common objectives. This is the fuel which enables ordinary individuals to achieve extraordinary results.