Is there still a right to seek asylum in a globalised world? Migration control has increasingly moved to the high seas or the territory of transit and origin countries, and is now commonly outsourced to private actors. Under threat of financial penalties airlines today reject any passenger not in possession of a valid visa, and private contractors are used to run detention centres and man border crossings. In this volume Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen examines the impact of these new practices for refugees' access to asylum. A systematic analysis is provided of the reach and limits of international refugee law when migration control is carried out extraterritorially or by non-state actors. State practice from around the globe and case law from all the major human rights institutions is discussed. The arguments are further linked to wider debates in human rights, general international law and political science.

Winner of the 2013 K. G. Idman Award

‘The book gives anybody interested in, or working with, these issues a solid basis for refuting claims of non-applicability of international obligations of states in these situations and does so without departing from sound legal research and findings … This book is most certainly a valuable tool for academics, practitioners and students alike.’

Kristina Touzenis Source: International Journal of Refugee Law

'This work will be of interest to scholars of refugee law, human rights law, and general international law as it is a comprehensive and well-written guide to the legal norms applicable to the phenomena of offshoring and outsourcing of migration control. The real value of this volume, however, lies in the author's awareness of the factual realities of private and extraterritorial migration control. Throughout the book, the author sets the scene, explaining the rationale behind the employment of such policies, how they operate in reality and the practical effect that this has on the individual asylum seeker.'

Source: Leiden Journal of International Law