Background information

According to EU Action Plan on Return, voluntary return is preferred to forced return. Therefore, Member States have developed programmes to encourage voluntary departure (including from detention) and to support reintegration in the country of return of migrants removed or who voluntarily departed.

Against this background, this EMN Inform :

• identifies the actors involved in funding, implementing and receiving assistance
• draws an overview of the different forms of incentives to take up return and reintegration assistance
• assesses the impact of these programmes on the overall development of the EU Return Policy
• highlights the challenges for the coming years.

Inform: some findings

• The total budget for these programmes amounts to around 111.8 million Euro for a standardised period of twelve months of implementation;
• The amounts of the in-cash allowances and of the reintegration packages granted to migrants vary significantly across Europe: ranging from 100 Euro (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia) to 3,750 Euro (Norway) for the in-cash allowance at the point of departure/after arrival and from 500 Euro (Bulgaria, Poland) to 5000 Euro (Norway) for of the in-kind assistance in the country of return;
• Over the period 2012-2015, the proportion of assisted voluntary returns out of the number of returns effected, has increased from 41% to 47%;
• EU Member States' joint reintegration projects increased.