Objective 22: Establish Mechanisms for the Portability of Social Security Entitlements and Earned Benefits

Abstract This chapter discusses Objective 22 of the GCM, which seeks to ensure migrant workers’ access to social protection and the portability of social security entitlements across borders. It underscores the centrality of portability for guaranteeing human rights and socio-economic inclusion, especially since migrant workers are disproportionately employed in precarious, high-risk sectors with limited protections. The chapter situates Objective 22 within international labour standards, highlighting social protection as both a right and a development tool. It explores persistent challenges, including spatial and nationality-based limitations of domestic systems, inconsistencies across regimes, and deficiencies in international coordination. The drafting history reveals only minor textual changes, reflecting broad consensus on the need for portability. It emphasizes that implementation remains complex, particularly for South-South and South-North migrants, who often face exclusion. It concludes that Objective 22 is progressive and innovative in its explicit reference to portability, but achieving its promise requires long-term interstate cooperation and robust social security frameworks.