Country Specific Approaches to Reintegration Assistance

Context and objective

Increased sustainability of the reintegration support through combined and tailored interventions (AMIF) Project (2022-2023) is funded by the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) – Belgium National Actions and co-funded by Fedasil, and implemented from 01 January 2022 to 31 December 2023. It follows the past EU funded reintegration assistance projects implemented in the previous years. 

The BE INCREASE project aims to develop an integrated approach towards reintegration within the Belgian Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme. This will be done through initiatives focusing on sustainable socio-economic reintegration, responding to the psychosocial and family-inclusive needs of returned migrants. Such initiatives prove to positively impact the overall sustainability of the reintegration process.

Activities

The support will be provided on an individual and needs basis, according to locally available opportunities, and in a cumulative manner to the Belgian AVRR programme.

1. Provide tailored pre-departure reintegration counselling, including virtual counseling with IOM colleagues in Countries of Origin to all interested candidates;
2. Provide additional in-kind sustainable business support for income generating activities and project; 
3. Provide “Socio-Economic Orientation” group sessions in Iraq, with interventions from consultants or guest speakers, to tackle all aspects of reintegration barriers and how to remedy to them. The sessions welcome returnees from Belgium but also from other European countries (financed by other projects). During these sessions, returnees can share their experiences and coping strategies;
4. Family-inclusive reintegration counseling and support (family budget);
5. Facilitate Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), On-The-Job (OTJ) trainings and apprenticeship opportunities for returnees. Trainings can be foreseen in a number of different fields depending on the candidates interests;
6. Provide specific financial, entrepreneurship or microbusiness management training to returnees;
7. Facilitate and encourage recreational activities for children, like summer camps, sports, leisure activities, etc.;
8. Provide additional support for children by facilitate access to day care, schooling and tutoring services;
9. Facilitate access to psychosocial support through individualized follow-up and group sessions;
10. Networking events for returnees in the context of local celebrations as well as sports activities.

Scope

The project’s implementation will mainly focus on fifteen selected countries: Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Iraq, Mongolia, Morocco, North Macedonia, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Somalia, Sudan and Republic of Türkiye.

In those countries, additional tools and capacities are being developed through a multi-stakeholder approach (mapping, return stories, videos, job fairs and other events).

Activities in Belgium

A counselling capacity building tour in Belgium with outreach visits to Belgian reception centers and AVRR stakeholders will be organized in 2023. This event will be coordinated by IOM Brussels CO, together with Fedasil and will bring together the focal points from the priority countries.

A one-day IOM seminar bringing together IOM missions from the priority countries of AMIF projects. The event will gather AVRR stakeholders in Belgium. The thematic focus will be on sustainable reintegration assistance and colleagues from Armenia, El Salvador, Iraq and Mongolia will be present.

Eligibility

All returnees are eligible for extended pre-departure counseling and may benefit from additional support in the countries of origin depending on their interest and profile.

Some activities are limited to the 15 focus countries (e.g. mapping, networking events and group sessions), while other activities and top-up grants are open to all countries (e.g. individual training grants, psychosocial support, family budget) or limited to countries without visa exemption to the EU and Latin America with the exception of Brazil (e.g. sustainability business top-up). 

Nationals from the European Union are not eligible under this project.

Though the support can be provided within the duration of the project implementation, AVRR beneficiaries should contact the local IOM missions within one month after return.

For more details on the available support, please reach out to one of the IOM caseworkers.

For more general information, please contact Karel Michiels (kmichiels@iom.int) or Loic Canivet Balkedal (lcanivet@iom.int).

Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) is set up for the period 2021-2027, with a total of EUR 9.88 billion. The Fund aims to further boost national capacities and improve procedures for migration management, as well as to enhance solidarity and responsibility sharing between Member States, in particular through emergency assistance and the relocation mechanism.   

The four AMIF objectives

AMIF will contribute to the achievement of four specific objectives:

• To strengthen and develop all aspects of the common European asylum system, including its external dimension
• To support legal migration to the Member States, including by contributing to the integration of third-country nationals
• To contribute to countering irregular migration and ensuring effectiveness of return and readmission in third countries
• To enhance solidarity and responsibility sharing between the Member States, in particular towards those most affected by migration and asylum challenges

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