Migration
I. Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Rwanda and immigrants
Because of Rwanda’s recent history, the country has a deep connection to the plight of those seeking safety and opportunity in a new land – this has shaped the country’s approach to migration and asylum issues.
Rwanda has a strong record of providing safety to those fleeing danger.
Rwanda already provides refuge for over 130,000 refugees from multiple countries – including neighbours like the DRC and Burundi, as well as Afghanistan and migrants evacuated from Libya – this proves Rwanda’s commitment to protecting vulnerable people around the world, a principle which always governs the international policy of the Government of Rwanda.
Rwanda is already working with international partners to support those fleeing conflict and natural disasters. In fact, Rwanda is a signatory to the African Union’s Kampala Convention - a continent wide initiative to provide protection to internally displaced people (IDPs).
Rwanda currently hosts:
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UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership
The UK and Rwanda are working together to address an urgent challenge: the global migration crisis. The partnership builds on Rwanda’s long-standing commitment to providing safe haven to refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants.
Signed in April 2022, the Migration and Economic Development Partnership is an innovative initiative which offers safety and dignity to those seeking protection, along with the opportunity to build a new life in Rwanda.
The financial support provided by the UK under this partnership will be invested in education, employment, training, welfare services, and accommodation for both migrants and Rwandans.
This programme addresses the root cause of the migration crisis: the opportunity gap. It champions the principle that Africans should not need to attempt perilous journeys across land and sea, in which their lives are placed in the hands of criminal people-smuggling gangs, in order to build better lives for themselves and their families. As President Kagame wrote in February 2022: “Africans should have the opportunity to lead dignified, productive, and safe lives on the African continent”.
Rwanda’s Migration Policies
Having once been one of the world’s largest producers of refugees, Rwandans share a deep awareness of what it means to flee home. For that reason, Rwanda has committed itself to providing safe haven to vulnerable people - not only those from neighboring countries, but also to those from as far afield as Afghanistan and Libya.
Currently, Rwanda hosts over 130,000 refugees from around the world. The majority of these are from the DRC and Burundi.
As well as fulfilling our responsibility to vulnerable people, Rwanda also welcomes migrants into our communities because we understand the role they can play in our national development. Migrants have proven their ability to make invaluable contributions to Rwanda, not only economically, but also to our social and cultural development.
The Opportunity to Build a New Life
This innovative partnership aims to contribute new solutions to a global migration system that desperately needs reform. In particular, it seeks to address the opportunity gap between Africa and Europe that drives so many migrants to make dangerous journeys.
Each migrant that arrives in Rwanda, and chooses to stay here, will receive a generous support package, including up to five years of training, accommodation, and healthcare. After an initial stay in a temporary facility, they will be offered the chance to settle and integrate in a new community, and provided with all the support they need - whether it be psychological care or language training.
These opportunities, thanks in part to the investments made by the UK, will offer migrants a genuine chance at building a new life - whether by gaining a new qualification, finding a new career, or even starting a business. Rwanda’s track record of peace and security ensures that these migrants will be able to do so in a peaceful, stable environment.
If migrants living in Rwanda decide that they would like to return home once it is safe to do so, or to relocate to another country where they are granted the right to stay, they will be assisted to do so safely.
Investments in Rwanda
The investments made in Rwanda (under the UK’s Economic Transformation and Investment Fund) will help support job creation, infrastructure development, and personal and professional development programmes which will benefit both Rwandans and migrants.
It will also support some of the projects that Rwanda has worked closely with the UK on in the past, and which are crucial to Rwanda’s development. These include: investing in environmental programmes, education - particularly of young girls - and building back better from Covid-19.
A Ground-Breaking Partnership
The MEDP is a world-first partnership. At times, it has been incorrectly compared to other initiatives - particularly other so-called ‘offshoring’ programmes, such as the Australia and Nauru partnership.
This partnership is different because it makes a clear commitment to supporting migrants over the long-term - investing in each migrant who settles in Rwanda for years after they arrive, and empowering them to build a new life.
Rwanda: A Safe Haven
Rwanda works actively with the UNHCR, and with governmental and NGO partners from around the world, to go above and beyond its responsibilities to vulnerable people. This is a deliberate commitment which reflects Rwanda’s national history and character.
Since the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, Rwanda has undergone a remarkable transformation. It is now widely acknowledged as one of the safest countries in Africa, and indeed the world (the Gallup Global Law and Order Report in 2018 ranked Rwanda the safest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the 40th Safest Country in the World; a more recent report ranked Rwanda the 6th Safest Country for Solo Travellers in the World, the only African nation in the top 10).
II. Expats
International migrants in Rwanda increased steadily from 1990 (160,000) to 2015 (514,600), and then plateaued from 2015 to mid-2020 at 513,900 individuals, constituting approximately 4% of the Rwandan populationxix. Most of the immigrants are from the DRC (250,000), followed by Burundi and Uganda (respectively 135,000 and 95,000), with also a small percentage from Tanzania (about 45,000), and a very small population of a few thousand from Kenyaxx. In Rwanda, female and male international migrants are equally distributed.