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Foreign Nationals in Prison & Probation

The CEP & EuroPris Foreign Nationals in Prison and Probation (FNPP) Expert Group originated from European organisations supporting nationals imprisoned abroad, which began meeting in the 1980s. This collaboration formalised as the European Group of Prisoners Abroad in 1993 and became a Special Interest Group of the CEP in 2007. With the establishment of EuroPris, the joint FNPP Expert Group was formed, bringing together representatives from organisations working with foreign national prisoners, universities, and experts nominated by CEP and EuroPris members. This unique group addresses the needs of both nationals imprisoned abroad and foreign nationals in their host countries, focusing on shared objectives like rehabilitation, resettlement, and reducing reoffending, guided by European and international human rights frameworks.

The Expert Group works to enhance national policies and best practices for managing foreign national prisoners across Europe. It facilitates information exchange on policy, operations, and training for prisons, probation, and the voluntary sector. Its activities include organising European workshops in cities like London, Brugge, and The Hague, and conducting a webinar in 2021. The group has contributed to European discussions, undertaken research on foreign national-only prisons, and promoted the implementation of Council of Europe recommendations. It has also run training sessions for prison staff, participated in EU projects like Erasmus+ Foriner, and published special newsletters in 2017 as well as in 2020, demonstrating its commitment to improving the treatment and resettlement of foreign national prisoners.

Duration: 2013 - Present
Status: Ongoing
Coordinator: Petra Pavlas

Event Highlights

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EuroPris, in collaboration with the Confederation of European Probation (CEP) and kindly hosted by the Federal Ministry of Justice of Austria, held a workshop addressing one of the most significant issues facing European prison systems today—Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). As migration and global political shifts continue to impact Europe, the number and proportion of FNOs in prisons are rising, bringing unique challenges to prison and probation services. That being said, an FNO in one country is a citizen imprisoned abroad in another. This dual perspective is central to the work of the FNPP Expert Group. This workshop was held from 29-30 October 2024, bringing together professionals from across Europe, including those in prison, probation, and NGOs, to engage in presentations, discussions, and knowledge-sharing on this increasingly important area of criminal justice policy. 

 

Read more about the workshop and it’s outcomes on the Event Page here.

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Foreign national offenders pose particular challenges to those who are working with them in the custodial and community setting. This workshop attracted over 60 participants from prison, probation and NGOs from 21 European countries, to hear presentations and engage in discussion and debate on this increasingly important area of criminal justice policy and practice. The Workshop was organised in cooperation with the Belgium Prison Service, by EuroPris and CEP Foreign National Prisoners Expert Group from which six of its members provided key presentations. The purpose of the Workshop was to promote better national regulation and best practices for foreign national prisoners in Europe through contributing to a greater awareness of FNP issues and through improving the management, rehabilitation and resettlement needs of FNPs. The aim of the Workshop was to: promote the welfare and interests of European nationals who are imprisoned outside their country of residence, in order to facilitate their social reintegration promote co-operation and the exchange of information between national and international agencies and groups which support prisoners abroad and their families liaise with individuals as well as state and non-governmental bodies which provide support to prisoners abroad. A World Café session was used to maximise participant engagement and sharing of knowledge among participants. At the Workshop, an initiative of the EuroPris/CEP Foreign National Prisoners Expert Group to collate a ‘Good Practice Manual for Working with Foreign Prisoners’ was launched. The booklet Picture it in Prison has been developed for foreign national prisoners and for prison staff working with them to overcome the language obstacle. The new version has 450 different pictures classified per theme and translations of 60 basic words and sentences in twenty frequently used languages. Download a sample of the booklet here.