Return and Reintegration

The return of illegally-staying third-country nationals is one of the main pillars of the EU’s policy on migration and asylum. However, recent Eurostat data show that return rates at EU level have not improved despite the important increase in the number of rejected asylum applications and in the number of return decisions issued since 2014. In its 2015 EU...

This EMN Inform presents the results of assist migrants to return and to support their reintegration. The Inform constitutes an update of the ‘Overview: Incentives to return to a third country and support provided to migrants for their reintegration.

The overall aim of these guidelines is to improve the evidence-base to inform the policy debate on return by identifying a common methodology for monitoring and evaluation that Member States can apply on a voluntary basis. Through such monitoring, Member States will be able to design more effective and efficient AVR(R) programmes. Specifically, the...

This Synthesis Report summaries the main findings of the National Reports for the EMN Study on Programmes and Strategies in the EU Member States fostering Assisted Return to and Reintegration in Third Countries undertaken by EMN National Contact Points from 22 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary...

This brief examines the policies, practices, and contextual factors that make compulsory returns such a difficult issue for international cooperation. It lays out the many perspectives migration policymakers must attempt to reconcile when considering returns—from the rule of law to humanitarian, development, and security and stability concerns. It also looks...

This report was commissioned by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and considers international experiences with assisted return of rejected asylum seekers from selected northern European countries. It documents lessons learned and best practices from comparable contexts and provides necessary background information for policy discussions. The...

European asylum systems are producing increasing numbers of rejected asylum seekers who have proved difficult to return to their countries of origin. Deportation systems are expensive, politically complex and have been criticised on humanitarian grounds, prompting a heightened focus on voluntary return measures as a more humane and cost effective alternative...

The present joint general comment was adopted at the same time as joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights of children in the context of...

This report presents a progress review and update on durable solutions programming in displacement-affected communities in three urban centres in Somalia: Mogadishu, Baidoa and Kismayo. It is a follow up from the solutions analyses conducted in the same locations in 2016/2017. These analyses will be repeated every year for the next four years to guide...

There exists a basic, and too often overlooked, condition in current migration management policies, which intimately connects any person who returns home from abroad, regardless of the place of origin, social background, motivations, prospects, skills and occupational status. Beyond the plurality of return migrants’ experiences there is a primary element...

Voluntary return in safety and with dignity as a durable solution to displacement has long been a core tenet of the international refugee regime. In the 23 articles on Return in this issue of FMR, authors explore various obstacles to achieving sustainable return, some of which are common to diverse situations of displacement while others are specific to...

Currently, there are millions of children globally who are currently separated from their families or communities of origin. A safe, secure family environment is widely recognized as the optimal environment for the growth of children and family reintegration is what the majority of these children and families want. Despite the importance of family...

With a global increase in the number of migrants and refugees, the issue of return migration has recently received greater attention. To date, return and reintegration policies have been shaped by increasing political emphasis on migration control, and tools such as readmission agreements. These policies rarely target sustainable reintegration. This primer...

Based on the most recent developments in Europe, Anna Knoll with Andrew Sherriff at the European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) have written an EBA-report high-lighting a number of key issues concerning the development and migration nexus. Focus is on how the irregular migration and refugee situation has impacted on the volumes and...

A study on "best practices in the field of the return of minors" was carried out by ECRE, in strategic partnership with Save the Children, on behalf of the European Commission. The study looked at legislation and practice regarding the return of children, either unaccompanied or within families, who return voluntarily or are forced to return because of their...

We are in the midst of a profound ‘returns-first’ shift in the global politics of child displacement. In response to soaring numbers of displaced worldwide –68.5 million, of which more than half are children – governments around the world are increasingly pursuing strategies that promote returns over other alternatives such as resettlement and local...

This paper studies migrants’ intentions to return to their origin country by making the distinction between permanent return, temporary return and participation in temporary return programmes. Using survey data from first generation migrants in the Netherlands, we explore how migrants’ experiences regarding both the origin and destination countries are...

This report looks at how countries of origin and destination can improve the way they tackle irregular migration with a more effective return and reintegration strategy, drawing on in-depth qualitative research carried out with returned migrants and stakeholders in Morocco. The report presents new data on what drives return and describes the actions required...

Irregular migration presents a significant public and policy concern across the EU and in particularly in the UK, where the estimated number of irregular migrants is one of the highest in the EU. Returning irregular migrants: Is deportation the UK's only option? examines the current situation in the UK, where there is no systematic policy of amnesty or...

Informed by new qualitative research, this report offers a set of recommendations to improve the process of returning irregular migrants from the EU to Nigeria, and the reintegration support available to them, to ensure that policy in this area is effective, efficient, humane and sustainable.