IOM’s Policy on the Full Spectrum of Return, Readmission and Reintegration

The return and readmission of migrants to their countries of origin, or third countries, and their reintegration into the societies and communities that receive them, are natural features of international mobility. More than ever, migration today is not a linear phenomenon starting with emigration and ending with permanent settlement in a new country. Rather, migration is increasingly multidirectional, frequently involving return to countries of origin for short or long periods of stay, often followed by back-and-forth movement between two or more countries, or migration onward to new destinations.

This Policy is intended to articulate and communicate to all stakeholders IOM’s vision of a comprehensive, rights/based, sustainable development-oriented and coherent approach to well-managed return, readmission and sustainable reintegration, taking into account the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Although this Policy chiefly relates to how IOM operates in this realm, it is also intended to provide principled guidance to other actors in this space, including governments, other United Nations entities and non-governmental organizations. It therefore also aims to help IOM to support governments in the development and implementations of laws and policies governing return migration in a manner consistent with international standards and good practice, and serves as an overarching framework that IOM uses to guide its support to, and engagement with, partners and migrants on activities related to the entire spectrum of return migration, including through direct assistance, capacity development and advisory support. In this way, IOM intends to promote a holistic approach to facilitating safe and dignified return and reintegration, in particular by ensuring that returnees’ needs are addressed and their skills are harnessed in pursuit of broader development in alignment with both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact, particularly objective 21 of the latter.