Temporary migration programmes, which grant individuals the right to reside and work in a country for a stipulated period, often related to an employment contract, have been viewed as a mechanism for governments to manage migration and address labour shortages. Based on case studies of France, Italy, Spain and the UK, Erica Consterdine writes that while such programmes were regularly promoted in EU countries in the early to mid-2000s, they have largely failed to live up to their promise as a central element of EU migration policies.