Introducing the Freemove Dataset: A Regional Analysis of Free Movement Regimes in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Free Movement Regimes (FMRs) establish a mobility pathway that allows nationals of one country to enter, reside, and work within the territory of another state, extending well beyond the channels typically associated with conventionally defined migration. Despite their global prevalence and significance, they have attracted little scholarly and policy attention. This article introduces the Freemove Dataset, the first dataset to comprehensively map all bilateral and multilateral FMRs globally. Our aim is to identify every FMR in force or adopted between 1992 and 2024, analysing and comparing their provisions, so as to assess their growth and expansion. Additionally, this article presents some descriptive and analytical results for the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. We demonstrate that the number of countries and regimes has increased enormously, resulting in a complex patchwork of partially overlapping bilateral and multilateral regimes. By employing indicator scorings to measure three clusters of FMR provisions (beneficiaries, rights and restrictions), we find that the depth of FMRs has significantly risen over the past three decades.