Migration Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the technical terms used across labour migration policy, recruitment regulation, and migrant worker protection.
Labour migration policy uses a lot of technical language that is not always defined the same way twice. This glossary gives plain-language definitions of the terms used across ILSI's site and in wider migration policy discussion.
Selected terms
- Bilateral labour agreement. A formal agreement between an origin and a destination country setting standards and procedures for labour migration between them.
- Responsible recruitment. Recruitment practices in which the employer, not the worker, bears recruitment costs, and workers are not charged illegal fees.
- Employer Pays Principle. The principle that no worker should pay for a job — recruitment fees and related costs should be borne by the employer.
- EPS (Employment Permit System). The Republic of Korea's government-to-government labour migration scheme, used in the Nepal to Korea corridor.
- Reintegration. The process of a returning migrant worker resettling into life, work and community at home.
- Corridor. A defined migration route between an origin and destination country, such as Nepal to the GCC states.
The full glossary, with additional terms, is listed below. If a term you encounter on this site is not yet defined here, contact ILSI and we will add it.
Why definitions vary between organisations
Terms like "responsible recruitment" or "reintegration" are used differently by different governments, employers and NGOs, sometimes in ways that serve their own institutional interests. Where a term has more than one common usage in the field, ILSI's glossary notes this rather than presenting a single definition as universally agreed, since pretending false consensus exists can obscure genuine policy disagreements that are worth understanding clearly.
Who this glossary is for
This glossary is written for anyone who encounters unfamiliar terms on this website or in wider labour migration discussion — a journalist covering a corridor for the first time, a government official new to the migration policy area, or a worker's family member trying to understand a document that uses this language. Entries avoid circular definitions that use one undefined technical term to explain another.
Keeping the glossary current
Labour migration policy continues to develop new terminology as agreements, schemes and standards evolve. ILSI reviews and updates this glossary periodically to reflect current usage, and welcomes suggestions from readers who encounter a term used inconsistently elsewhere and would find a clear ILSI definition useful.
B
- Bilateral Labour Agreement
- A formal arrangement between two governments setting out shared rules for how workers from one country may be recruited and employed in the other, typically covering recruitment procedures, worker protections, wages and dispute resolution.
C
- Chain of Custody of Documents
- A record of who has held a worker's identity and travel documents, such as a passport, at each stage of the migration process, used to identify and prevent unlawful document retention.
- Consular Assistance
- Support provided by a country's embassy or consulate to its citizens abroad, which can include welfare checks, document replacement, and liaison with local authorities or employers during a dispute.
- Contract Substitution
- The unlawful practice of replacing a worker's original employment contract, usually reviewed and signed before departure, with a different contract offering worse pay or conditions after the worker arrives in the destination country.
- Corridor
- A defined migration pathway between an origin country and a destination country, such as Nepal to Malaysia, used to describe and analyse the specific risks, scale and governance arrangements of that particular flow of workers.
D
- Debt Bondage
- A situation in which a worker is obliged to keep working to pay off a debt, often created by inflated recruitment fees, in conditions where the terms of repayment are unclear or unfair, trapping the worker in exploitative employment.
- Due Diligence
- The process of investigating and assessing an employer's, recruiter's or supply chain's labour practices to identify risks such as forced labour, excessive fees or unsafe conditions before or during a working relationship.
E
- EPS (Employment Permit System)
- A government-to-government labour migration scheme operated by the Republic of Korea, through which foreign workers are recruited directly by public agencies in the origin and destination countries, reducing the role of private recruitment intermediaries.
- Ethical Recruitment
- Recruitment practices that respect worker rights throughout the hiring process, most notably by ensuring no recruitment fees are charged to the worker, in line with the Employer Pays Principle.
- Exit Permit
- Official permission historically required in some countries for a migrant worker to leave the country, sometimes requiring employer approval. Several destination countries have reformed or removed this requirement in recent years.
F
- Forced Labour
- Work performed involuntarily under threat of penalty, which can include physical or financial coercion, retention of identity documents, or debt-based pressure that prevents a worker from freely leaving a job.
G
- Grievance Mechanism
- A formal channel through which a worker can raise a complaint about their treatment, pay or working conditions, and expect it to be investigated and responded to by an employer, agency or independent body.
H
- Human Trafficking
- The recruitment, transport or harbouring of a person through force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of exploitation, including forced labour or sexual exploitation. It is a serious crime under international and most national law.
K
- Kafala
- A sponsorship system historically used in several Gulf states that ties a migrant worker's legal residency and work status to a single employer, who is responsible for their visa. Many Gulf states have reformed aspects of this system in recent years.
L
- Labour Attaché
- A diplomatic official posted to an embassy or consulate with specific responsibility for labour affairs, including monitoring the welfare of migrant workers from their home country and liaising with local labour authorities.
M
- Migrant Welfare Fund
- A fund, often financed by worker or employer contributions, established by an origin-country government to provide emergency assistance, insurance payouts or repatriation support to migrant workers in difficulty.
- MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)
- A formal but generally non-binding agreement between two or more parties, such as governments or organisations, setting out shared intentions and areas of cooperation, often a step toward a fuller bilateral agreement.
P
- Pre-Departure Orientation
- A briefing given to migrant workers before they travel, covering their contract terms, workplace rights, local laws and customs, and how to access help if something goes wrong once they are abroad.
R
- Recruitment Fee
- A charge levied on a worker (or sometimes an employer) by a recruitment agency for arranging overseas employment. Excessive or hidden recruitment fees charged to workers are a leading cause of migrant debt bondage.
- Reintegration
- The process of a returning migrant worker resettling into life, work and community in their home country, including economic reintegration such as starting a business or finding local employment.
- Remittance
- Money sent by a migrant worker back to family or others in their home country, typically to support household expenses, education, debt repayment or savings, and a major source of foreign income for many origin countries.
- Repatriation
- The return of a person, or in some cases their remains, to their home country, often used in the migration context to describe emergency or employer-funded return travel for a worker.
S
- Sponsorship Transfer
- The process by which a migrant worker's legal sponsorship or work permit is moved from one employer to another, rules for which vary significantly between destination countries.
W
- Wage Theft
- The withholding of wages a worker is legally owed, whether through non-payment, underpayment, unauthorised deductions, or delayed payment used to pressure a worker into staying in an exploitative job.