Return and Reintegration

Since the 1980s onwards, voluntary repatriation has been promoted by governments, NGOs and UN agencies as the ultimate solution to refugees’ displacement. This paper draws attention to some of the psychosocial difficulties refugee returnees encounter. It argues that forced migrants’ notion of home is continuously challenged and transformed from the time of...

The Children First Programme is focused on training officials and other actors on efficient and safe procedures concerning the reception, interviews, status determination and post-decision measures. Creating and strengthening national and international networks of the officials has been a vital part of this programme.

In 1996-2001 the International Organization for Migration (IOM) executed a project ”Reconstruction, Capacity Building and Development through the Return of Qualified Nationals to Bosnia and Herzegovina.” This evaluation has two overall objectives: Assess whether objectives of the project were attained in an efficient manner; and Determine lessons learned...

The programme Return and Counselling Assistance of Asylum Seekers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania currently living in Belgium, Finland and The Netherlands has been implemented by the International Organisation for Migration in seven countries. Its overall objective is to contribute to the provision of more durable voluntary return options...

On the initiative of the Zepa-Srebrenica Prisoners of War Association, the Domovini project was started on October 1998. The project was supported by the European Union and planned by the IOM with Finnish and Bosnian partners. It was a pilot project with the aim of supporting the voluntary return to their home country of refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The...

The overall objectives of RQAN, as stated in the phase III of the programme, is to contribute to enhancing the role and utilization of highly qualified, qualified and skilled African personnel in the development of participating countries. Ethiopia was included in Phase III of the programme during 1995-1998 as one of the target countries to return 45...

Return Migration in Austria is the contribution of the National Contact Point (NCP) Austria to the third European Pilot Study o­n Return Migration in the EU Member States, which is compiled by the European Migration Network (EMN). Besides the Austrian NCP, country studies will be compiled by the NCPs of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the...

This summary report provides a detailed analysis of the situation of migrants who have returned home to several West African countries as a result of the conflict in Libya. This report is the full version which IOM’s Policy in Brief – Returnees from Libya: The Bittersweet Experience of Coming Home is based on. It provides an understanding of the factors that...

Stories of Reintegration presents success stories of migrants’ reintegration upon their return to their home countries. This publication aims at introducing IOM’s reintegration programme and its results to targeted publics as well as raising awareness among potential beneficiaries. Stories of Reintegration features accounts of migrants who have returned from...

The report assesses the relevant laws, policies, services and infrastructures available in Armenia for returning migrants with acute health problems and their degree of implementation. It identifies the gaps in health care system for migrants and returnees with medical problems and suggests specific recommendations to this end. The report dwells on the...

In the Netherlands IOM meets with some 7,000 migrants every year. A good part of these people choose to return home with IOM. The decision to return is not always easy - there is much to consider, for oneself, and for one’s family. Return is a complex set of services. This issue of IOM the Netherland’s magazine Focus on Migration carries articles and stories...

The Guide covers the various issues related to reintegration such as citizenship, residence, return documents, entry to Armenia and registration; pensions, benefits; economic and social reintegration; employment and self-employment (entrepreneurship) services for returnees, vocational training services; training and re-qualification; education and language...

This special edition of Focus on Migration is one of the activities implemented by the IOM project ‘Assisted Voluntary Return to Migrants in Detention III (AVRD III)’, funded by the European Return Fund 2011 and co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice.

This report provides insight into the lived reality of voluntary returnees with chronic medical conditions who returned to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ghana, UNSC resolution 1244-administered Kosovo, Mongolia and Morocco. The report was developed in the framework of the IOM project Measures to Enhance the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration...

IOM has produced a special publication Saving Lives and Building Livelihoods to chart the evolution and scope of IOM and Germany’s partnership in light of its 60th anniversary in November 2014. Covering in detail all activities between 2010 – 2013, the publication overviews IOM-German projects across the globe. This publication highlights the strong...

The study describes the current state of unaccompanied minors in Austria with regard to legislation and practices. It also presents available statistics on this topic. A number of relevant areas are covered: entry, residence, asylum procedure, age assessment, guardianship, legal advice, accommodation, reception conditions, healthcare, education, vocational...

In this paper, the IOM and SRC propose the following main initiatives for the future management of public return assistance programmes: (a) opening up of return and reintegration assistance programmes to a wider group of migrants; (b) introducing inovative approaches to return assistance; and (c) strengthening cooperative work in Europe, particularly the...

This issue of Migration Policy Practice focuses broadly on three main themes – public perceptions of migration, analysis of irregular migration and return trends, and measuring the impact of migration policies. Migration Policy Practice is a bimonthly journal published jointly by IOM and Eurasylum Ltd. It only contributes articles from, and is overseen by...

The study analyses the question, of how irregular migrants who are not in contact with the authorities can be reached to provide them with information on voluntary return. After a presentation of the relevant provisions of Austrian law, the study focuses on the relevant groups of irregular migrants and the actors involved in disseminating information on...

This summary provides an overview of the research on the main challenges and opportunities of implementing the IOM assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) projects in Morocco using the community-based approach. The main focus of the study is on how the community-based approach could provide solutions to some of the challenges of the AVRR...