Why are migrant centres so important? Migration journeys are interrupted when people get stranded along their route without any form of protection, shelter, food or health care, and this is when situations become critical. IOM, Governments and partners have set-up migrant centres along the main migratory routes, to provide life-saving assistance.

Centres ensure a tailored and holistic response to migrants’ needs, including accommodation, psychosocial support, liaison with consular authorities, accurate information on their journey, referrals to specialized services and assisted voluntary return and reintegration for those who desire to return to their country of origin.

The data collected through the registration of migrants, respecting IOM Data Protection Principles, contributes to drawing a clearer picture of migration trends and migrant vulnerabilities, informing better policies and programming. Thousands of migrants benefit from this crucial assistance every year. For this reason, such centres are an essential contribution to humanitarian interventions assisting people on the move.

The Migrant Centres Toolkit – Practical Guidance to Train Field Practitioners (2023 edition) represents the most comprehensive guidance for those engaged in migrant centres operations, in the framework of migrant protection and assistance services. It is an IOM open-source tool open to all. The present practical guidance provides guidelines to facilitate capacity building initiatives targeting national authorities, national and international actors involved in the set-up and running of migrant centres facilities. The overall goal of the Migrant Centres Toolkit – Practical Guide to Train Field Practitioners aims to provide specific guidance on how to uphold migrant centres’ highest standards and ensure migrants’ needs and rights are met.

This publication has been made possible through the generous support from the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Sahel and Lac Chad Region, as well as the Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS) program.